Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and legislators in four states have taken action to increase the policing of consumer drug ads. Advertising of the COX-2 painkillers Celebrex and Bextra are in direct fire of facing stricter advertising policies after FDA advisers recommended limiting or altogether banning consumer advertising of these drugs.

If Merck decides to reintroduce Vioxx to market shelves after its dangerous cardiovascular side effects were disclosed, they too could be placed under similar advertising restrictions.

Researchers believe the outcome of these advertising changes would lead consumers to investigate other resources such as doctors, Web sites and 1-800 numbers for education on specific products and any associated risks.

Marketing experts believe that the new approach of marketing--educating the consumer about their health condition--will increase the number of consumers seeking treatment and thus create an expanding market for drug makers.

A New Spin on Drug Advertising

Recent campaigns reveal signs of future advertising trends:

• A blood-pressure campaign by Novartis referred to as Take Action for Healthy BP began with TV and print ads and is now solely promoted through a Web site. The purpose of the Web site is to help the consumer maintain their blood pressure goals through use of educational tools such as heart-healthy recipes, exercise tips and a blood pressure diary.

• A migraine prevention campaign by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals also refers consumers to their Web site to discover how to have fewer migraines.

Marketing drugs over the Internet is an increasing trend and provides an easy outlet for drug marketers to connect directly to consumers interested in their product. The rise in Internet drug marketing is evident in last year's numbers, which showed that it made up $5 million of the industry's $4.1 billion in consumer drug advertising.

USA Today March 16, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Remember you don't have to rely on drugs for treating inflammation, you can simply manipulate the fats in your diet to achieve similar benefits. Please read the other article in this issue for specific details on how to do that. Earlier this year I ran an article on the crackdown by the FDA on the outrageously false claims. In addition to Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex were taken by millions of patients worldwide lured by the ads flooding television sets and magazine pages. Manufacturers of these drugs perceived their marketing campaign as a blockbuster success. Fortunately some expert conventional physicians truly get it. Dr. Eric Topol is one such crusader. He is the chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and wrote the following: "The heart attack risks of arthritis painkillers Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex have exposed a regulatory 'house of cards' at the Food and Drug Administration," Dr. Topol has been an outspoken critic of the drug companies in the Vioxx catastrophe. Dr. Topol continues to state: "These drugs were mass-marketed from the moment they were commercially available in the new world of direct-to-consumer advertising, with unrealistic expectations about pain relief, marked gastrointestinal protection and safety. One has to question the wisdom of allowing direct-to-consumer advertising for lifestyle medications that have no capability of preserving life or preventing major events such as heart attack or stroke." Folks, I think it is high time the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reevaluates their policy of allowing drugs to be advertised on TV. However, since pharmaceutical companies have spent more money lobbying Congress than other organization, we may never see the FTC reverse its policy. Related Articles: Drug Companies Spend Two Billion to Advertise Directly to Consumers Alternative Vs. Conventional: Why Don't Doctors Get It Consumer Reports Warning: Beware of Drug Ads Should Drugs be Advertised on Television?