The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to launch a study of how well consumers understand the lengthy list of safety risks listed in drug advertisements — and whether there are so many warnings that their eyes glaze over.
But the study, and related work at the FDA, have irked the drug industry and spurred critics of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements to argue the agency should be doing more.
To meet regulatory requirements, drug companies typically include risk information about a product in two sections of a print ad. The FDA wants to know whether doubling down on that risk information “overwarns” consumers, leading them to gloss over the possible side effects.
About the Author Reprints
Drug ads don’t belong on TV, newspapers, magazines, or social media. Period. It just raises costs to consumers. Exactly how many patoents need Keytruda or Opdivo anyway?
I agree completely. First, by the time they are through you’ve been convinced that any good they do is offset by the side effects and they also give false hope to many individuals, plus then every patient wants the newest most expensive drug for their condition whether it works or not. Do away with them altogether.
The commercial that always gives me a chuckle is the one that warns against taking the drug if you have multiple endocrineal neoplasia type 2. How many people actually know what that is? Ask your doctor whether STATNEWS is right for you!