Comments to FDA on Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertisements
Direct-to-consumer advertising should be carefully regulated and required to include clear, specific, and easy-to-understand audio and visual explanations of the product’s risks and benefits, along with the risks and benefits of alternative therapies. A recent FDA-funded study on distraction in direct-to-consumer drug advertising was not well-designed to detect the effects of distraction on consumer comprehension of risks, and cannot be used as a guide for policymaking.