The FDA’s crazy plan: reduce drug warnings so we’ll be more tuned in to them
There’s no traditional gift for a 30-year anniversary. But if you ask Pfizer, it would probably be something blue.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of prescription drugs ads on TV, the ones pitched directly to you and me. The ones that tell us to “ask your doctor about…”
But the FDA thinks it’s time for a change – and not for the better.
It’s doing a survey to find out if we’ll learn more…by hearing less.
Instead of telling us a number of the horrible side effects these drugs can cause, what if Big Pharma only had to mention a couple? You know, just to get the bad news over with as fast as possible.
That brilliant proposal has been dubbed “limited risk information.” And it’s one the FDA believes might make us pay closer attention to the risks of taking these meds.
Now, if you think that sounds more like an idea hatched by Big Pharma than the FDA, you’re not alone. And drug companies seem to be mighty pleased with it.
Pfizer says that it will provide “significant consumer benefits.” And AbbVie and Eli Lilly jumped right in with lots of suggestions on how the FDA should conduct its survey to get the best results.
A group called the Coalition for Healthcare Communication (whose main purpose is to keep all these drug commercials running), told the FDA that when it comes to drug advertising, “simplicity is king,” which means eliminating the “white noise” about all those risks.
But an even better idea might be to scrap all that “white noise.” I mean only two countries in the whole world allow this kind of advertising – the U.S. and the island country of New Zealand.
And if all those ads were to disappear, just think of how nice it would be to watch television and not be forced to hear about rashes, swelling, difficulty breathing and swallowing, blood in your urine, toenail fungus and genital yeast infections.
Source:
“FDA to study limiting lists of drug risks in TV ads” Lydia Wheeler, January 12, 2015, The Hill, thehill.com
