GAO Report Echoes DeLauro's Concerns Over Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

GAO Report Echoes DeLauro's Concerns Over Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today issued the following statement on a newly-released report from the Government Accountability Office on direct-to consumer advertising of prescription drugs. DeLauro is the ranking member of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee - a subcommittee she is likely to chair in the 110th Congress - and the author of The Responsibility in Drug Advertising Act.

"The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently outlined a number of recommendations to reform the FDA, one of which was to impose a two-year ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of newly approved drugs. This recommendation is consistent with legislation I introduced last year - The Responsibility in Drug Advertising Act - which would impose a three-year ban.

"The GAO report found that FDA has limited ability to curb the distribution of direct-to-consumer advertisements, on which drug companies spend approximately $4.2 billion annually. Even when FDA discovers misleading ads, the GAO found that warning letter were not sent out until eight months after the ad first appeared - a point when more than half the ads were no longer circulating.

"The results of this GAO report are troubling and highlight the need for a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of newly approved drugs."

http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/December/GAO_Advertising_12_14_06.html