Trump Administration Moves To Tighten Prescription Drug Ads.

There is a new push to limit pharmaceutical ads on radio and television, and this time it is coming from the White House. President Trump has signed an executive memo calling on federal agencies to step up their enforcement to ensure prescription drug advertising laws are being followed. That includes ensuring there is only “truthful and non-misleading” information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements.

“The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements,” says the directive signed by Trump on Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration immediately announced it is launching what is described as a “major reform” of pharmaceutical advertisements that will require drug companies to include full safety warnings during their direct-to-consumer ads. Since 1997, the FDA has allowed them to include only vital information such as full contraindications and common precautions. If the rule change is approved, it would potentially make broadcast advertising less appealing to drug makers.

“Drug companies spend up to 25% of their budget on advertising. Those billions of dollars would be better spent on lowering drug prices for everyday Americans,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said.

The FDA rulemaking will not only remove what is known as the “adequate provision” rule but also increase the agency’s enforcement of DTC violations and close what it says are “digital loopholes” by expanding regulatory oversight to include social media promotional activities. The FDA says it will also send a letter to several thousand drug advertisers putting them on notice that FDA will be actively enforcing violations of the law and directing them to remove all non-compliant promotional materials from the market.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been critical of broadcast ads for prescription drugs and has repeatedly said he supports ending direct-to-consumer ads altogether. Kennedy sees getting them off the air part of the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

“Pharmaceutical ads hooked this country on prescription drugs,” Kennedy said. “We will shut down that pipeline of deception and require drug companies to disclose all critical safety facts in their advertising.”

Any effort to block drug ads from radio and television would likely face legal challenges. Federal courts have previously sided with the pharmaceutical industry on First Amendment grounds.

For now, there is no one threatening lawsuits. But the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is defending direct-to-consumer ads. It says DTC advertising provides patients with important fact-based, useful and accessible information about potential treatment options. “PhRMA’s member companies are committed to responsible, accurate advertising that helps Americans make informed decisions about their health care in consultation with their doctor,” the trade group says in a statement.

Makary says the FDA is this week sending 100 cease-and-desist letters to drug companies and online pharmacies that it believes are using misleading ads. The agency says enforcement letters have plummeted from over 130 annually in the late 1990s to just three in 2023 and none last year while pharmaceutical companies spent $369.8 million to entice consumers on social media advertising in 2020 alone.

Congress Also Considering Ban

Critics of pharmaceutical advertising have already been attempting to change the law, with several bills pending in Congress that would prohibit any promotional communications targeting consumers with prescription drug advertisements over radio, television, print, digital platforms, and social media. They believe the public is on their side. According to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index, 59% of Americans support banning TV pharma ads.

The amount of money going into advertising from the drugmakers is significant. In the first three months of this year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) says the drug companies spent more than $725 million advertising just 10 drugs. Data from ad tracker iSpot.tv, shows the pharmaceutical industry spent $5.15 billion on national TV ads last year. And MediaRadar says pharmaceutical companies spent more than $10 million on advertising across all media outlets.

Not waiting for Washington to act, some states have already begun looking at their own drug ad bans. In Oklahoma, the sponsor of the bill says he sees it as working in tandem with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.