Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17111

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Kuehn BM
FDA Weighs Limits for Online Ads
JAMA 2010 Jan 27;
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/303/4/311

Abstract:

As makers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices experiment with ways to market their products online, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering how to apply existing regulations for direct-to-consumer drug or device advertising to emerging media such as social networking sites and blogs.

The US Food and Drug Administration has warned drug makers that online advertising for medical devices or drugs that disproportionately emphasizes a product’s benefits violates the agency’s rules.

During a November FDA hearing on the issue, online marketers, Internet companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers argued in favor of loosening rules to allow makers of medical devices and drugs to use space-limited online media such as sponsored search-engine advertisements. Consumer advocates, however, urged the agency to hold the line on its standards, and maybe even toughen them, noting negative effects of direct-to-consumer marketing that have been documented over the past decade after the agency . . .