Healthy Skepticism Library item: 7458

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

Palumbo FB, Mullins CD.
The Development of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising Regulation
Food and Drug Law Journal 2002; 57:(3):423-443
http://www.kff.org/rxdrugs/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14372

Abstract:

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising has grown from $12 million in 1989 to over $2 billion in 2001, an almost 200-fold increase. The authors trace the evolution of the laws and regulations that led up to today’s DTC advertising. This article examines the interplay between the drug advertising laws administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and those administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and discusses the relative roles of the two agencies. Today, the FTC regulates advertising of over-the-counter drugs, while FDA, through its Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications, regulates prescription drug advertising, including DTC advertising. The article also addresses the regulation of DTC advertising in other countries, and explores the positions of the various stakeholders in DTC advertising. Finally, the article addresses new legislative and legal efforts in the DTC advertising arena.

Notes:

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