Potential Effects of a Ban on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of New Prescription Drug
"Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs has elicited various concerns. One concern is that DTC advertising may add to spending on drugs by consumers, insurers, and the federal government without providing enough benefits to justify that spending; specifically, some observers worry that DTC advertising encourages broader use of certain drugs than their health benefits warrant. Another concern is that DTC advertising for newly approved drugs may lead people to use
drugs whose potential risks were not fully discovered during the drug approval process. Those concerns have spurred recent proposals for a moratorium on advertising brand-name prescription drugs to consumers during the first two years following a drug’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although such a moratorium would allow more time for safety concerns about a new drug to be revealed, it would entail health risks of its own, because some individuals who would
benefit from a new drug might be unaware of its availability in the absence of consumer advertising..."