Lawmakers Seek to Curb Drug Commercials

In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan told Americans to "Just Say No" to recreational drugs. Now a handful of legislators are just saying no to TV commercials for prescription drugs. The politicians are taking aim at the 60-second spots that have made viewers familiar with maladies like male urinary urgency and deficient eyelashes. Rep James Moran (D-VA) is sponsoring a House bill that would ban ads for prescription sexual aids like Viagra and Levitra from prime-time television, on decency grounds. Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) has said he favors empowering the Food and Drug Administration to bar consumer advertisements for new drugs for an initial period after the FDA approves them — until there has been more real-world experience with the medications. Meanwhile, Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has introduced a bill called the Say No to Drug Ads Act. It would amend the federal tax code to prevent pharmaceutical companies from deducting the cost of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements as a business expense.