Senators push for ban on drug ads, citing $5 billion in annual pharmaceutical spending

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 1:33 PM, Jun 13, 2025


Sens. Bernie Sanders and Angus King have introduced a bill in the Senate that would ban drugmakers from advertising their products on television.

The End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act would also prohibit prescribed medications from being advertised on radio, print, and digital platforms. The two senators, who caucus with the Democrats, say their proposal is similar to one suggested by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The senators cited a report indicating that the pharmaceutical industry spends $5 billion per year on advertising. “The widespread use of direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies drives up costs and doesn’t necessarily make patients healthier,” King said. “The End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act would prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs to protect people. This bill is a great step to ensure that patients are getting the best information possible and from the right source: their providers and not biased advertisements.”

According to a 2013 study published by the National Institutes of Health in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, direct-to-consumer advertisements lead to increased pharmaceutical spending by the public.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/congress/senators-push-for-ban-on-drug-ads-citing-5-billion-in-annual-pharmaceutical-spending

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Link to Senator Sanders' PRESS RELEASE - NEWS: Sanders, King Introduce Bill to Ban Prescription Drug Ads

Link to draft BILL (PDF) - https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/TAM25690.pdf

Link to draft BILL SUMMARY (PDF) - https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/End-Prescription-Drug-Ads-Now-Act-One-Pager.pdf

[Fullduplexxx]

1. Yeah about time

[Trust_Reality]

7. Yes indeed!

It will restrict the profiteers and the profiteering, so I bet the "R" party will block it.

[3Hotdogs]

12. What are ya talking? $1/2m. to a couple'a senators,

no change to what you see on the TV screen.

[enid602]

2. RFK Jr

This sounds like it would be right up RFK, Jr’s Alley. I wonder if he’ll be weighing in on it.

[womanofthehills]

44. RFK Jr as chairman of Children's Health Defence

Spoke about this often.

Most media makes the majority of their money from big Pharma- so they will not exactly mention any drug that is having reported side effects or has been recalled. Remember Viiox

“ The untold story of TV’s first prescription drug ad”

https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/11/untold-story-tvs-first-prescription-drug-ad/

“In 2008, approximately 27,000 Vioxx medical injury product-liability lawsuits were settled for $4.85 billion. In 2011, Merck paid over $1.6 billion to the Federal Government to resolve criminal charges and civil claims related to its alleged illegal promotion and marketing of Vioxx. Merck also agreed to settle a federal class action lawsuit filed by investors for $830 million in 2016. This global landmark victory set a precedent for MDLs to come.”
https://www.seegerweiss.com/drug-injury/vioxx-lawsuit/

[enid602]

47. RFK Jr

Thanks. It’ll be interesting to see his position given his new role.

[chowder66]

3. PLEASE pass this! I can't stand seeing a million pharma commercials.

Bring back animated Duluth Trading commercials please.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. LOL

Classic!

[chowder66]

14. Yes!

&list=PLC930D3EF0DA8A52D&index=3

[cannabis_flower]

18. While they are at it

Make them stop calling me about Medicare Advantage!

[Rhiannon12866]

39. Yes!!!

[Seinan Sensei]

40. Yes! Absolutely! And ditto!

No more Medicare Advantage calls
No more Medicare Advantage texts & emails
No more Medicare Advantage TV ads

[GB_RN]

21. My Father And I...

Call them “bug your doctor ads.” And that’s exactly what they are.

[BlueKota]

28. I always love how they say don't take the drug,

if you're allergic to it. First of all, if my doctor just prescribed it, and I had never taken it before, how the hell would I know if I was allergic or not? 2nd, if I had been on it previously and had a reaction to it, why would my primary care doctor re-subscribe it for me? 3. If I did know I was allergic to a med why the hell would I want to take it?

[enid602]

48. And . . .

And ‘discontinue use in case of lower limb loss or the appearance of a severe, painful rash between your anus and genitals.’

[BlueKota]

53. 🤣

[walkingman]

4. All for this - who isn't tired of drug ads?

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Big Pharm wasn't allowed to advertise directly to the public until 1997.

[LittleGirl]

6. Indeed. I left the country for a decade

And my culture shock was all the Pharma commercials! It’s wore out the mute button on my remote!

[GB_RN]

23. We Are One Of Only Two Countries...

That allow direct-to-consumer Rx drug ads. The other? New Zealand. But, NZ has one thing we don’t: Universal healthcare, and that helps keep costs down overall.

[Bluetus]

38. There are only 2 countrioes on the planet that allow Pharma to advertise prescription drugs.

US and New Zealand.

Basically the rest of the world says that if a drug needs to be prescribed, then a trained doctor should be involved in that decision.

[mac56]

8. "I have type 2 diabetes, but I manage it well.."

[BidenRocks]

13. DO NOT

start singing and dancing!
I really hate that.

[Wednesdays]

26. I take Jardiance, and it helps me a lot

But they don't have to tell me about it seventeen times a day in order for me to take the thing.

[Dulcinea]

37. Diabetes The Musical!

Last edited Sat Jun 14, 2025, 07:29 AM - Edit history (1)

Seriously, PLEASE take drug ads off TV! Some of these meds have side effects worse than the condition they're treating. "May cause lymphoma." WTF??!!

[the nelm]

51. I was about to say something similar. In many cases, it seems some of the side effects...

of some of these drugs are worse that the malady they claim they want to help cure.

[Warpy]

10. Even though insurance companies are the ones screaming for this

just like Big PIll got the ads in the first place, the ethics of direct advertising to suggestible people with no way to go buy drugs off the shelf were horrendous, accounting for unnecessary doctor visits to obtain unnecessary prescription drugs, some of which might have caused real harm and even more medical costs.

I don't care if they do the right thing for the wrong reason, it's still the right thing.

[irisblue]

11. 40 some years late

[speak easy]

19. 1997

[irisblue]

30. I apologize for my math.

[speak easy]

31. It seems more like 50 years.

[ProfessorGAC]

59. Yeah, Seems Like 50 Years...

...since this past March!
I watch a lot of Food Network. They run those ads constantly.

[OC375]

15. Druf for Everything These Days...

?si=LTObyisYHmufNhpA

[Bettie]

16. Won't go anywhere

Pharma owns too many senators and house members.

[Skittles]

17. yup

and they know that.....

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Big Pharma

would not be the only losers, think of all that lost revenue in the Media...........

WASF

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. Online gambling app advertising can make up the difference

Heyyy! Download the app, link to your life savings account, and dream about that big yacht in your future!

[DENVERPOPS]

57. I have to think

that online gambling is going to contribute massively to the demise of the lower income individuals,
and most importantly an increase the corruption of professional and college sports by players and refs that throw games..............
The NFL and NHL have already seen their refs making unbelievably bad calls or non-calls, throwing the outcome of games.
Both the NFL and NHL have fired many refs already, but keeping it quiet and out of the main stream news for obvious reasons....

Back in 96? 97? the NHL had to fire their TOP FIVE REFS, for fixing games in the playoffs, leading up to the Stanley Cup that year..........

[Hekate]

20. Works for me

[Raven123]

22. Long overdue. Thank you Senators Sanders and King!

[Iamscrewed]

24. Hidden costs

We get to pay more in the US because they get away with ripping us off. Capitalism pure and simple.

[SKKY]

29. Having lived in Europe for 18 Years, where you don't see these types of ads...

...I fully support this. Plus, I'd like to get that damn Skyrizi song out of my head once and for all.

[Xolodno]

32. And lets not forget the long list of "side effects" they include at the end of the commercial....

May cause, pink eye, ring worm, impotence, rashes, loss of hair, yellowing of eyes, tooth decay, severe gas, diarrhea, constipation, green stools, purple stools, hemorrhoids, dizziness, fainting, bad breath, short term paralysis, long term paralysis, permanent paralysis, brain damage, heart damage, lung damage, liver damage, pancreas damage and death.

[kimbutgar]

33. Please please pass this bill

Unfortunately the orange taco Hitler would veto it after getting a secret offshore bank account payoff!

[mac56]

34. SNL

?si=ITrLlyTqng05p2T-

[riversedge]

35. I think the vast Majority of all ads I see lately are for drug ads!!I am watching one on msnbc right now!!

[Figarosmom]

36. Good

Half the time I have no idea what the meds they are advertising is even for.

It's just a tax write off for the drug companies

[bedazzled]

41. In the eighties you couldn't advertise except in medical journals

I worked at a drug company. You had to print the entire package insert. It takes a short novel to list the adverse reactions now.

Getting rid of those ads is a rare positive thing! Has to happen once in a while I guess.

[Woodycall]

42. I adamantly agree...

...but, goodbye MSNBC...

[Who_Me]

43. On the noon news where I live it's ad's from:

The ambulance chasers and the 'I'll buy your house for cash and close in as little as 7 days'.

[kkmarie]

45. Never understood why

Why would a company spend money on commercials to advertise a product that people can't buy!?

You can't just go to your doctor and say I have type 2 diabetes and I want Jardiance.
So how did advertising lead to increased consumer spending? Maybe OTC stuff but not prescription meds.
Boogles the mind

[BumRushDaShow]

50. "You can't just go to your doctor and say I have type 2 diabetes and I want Jardiance."

But that is exactly what the ads are designed for people to do (some even explicitly mention that the consumer should "ask your doctor" in the ad) and many people in fact DO do that. But that doesn't mean the doctor will automatically prescribe it for whatever reason.

I know for the past couple years, I had been seeing the Arexvy (from GSK) vaccine ads for RSV (there are a couple companies that make RSV vaccines). One that I saw a lot was this -

I did actually go on and get a RSV shot earlier this year at my pharmacy but had no idea which brand I got until I checked my BCBS record to see that it was Arexvy (Pfizer also makes one and has advertised it - Abrysvo).

[kkmarie]

60. I get the vaccines

But for diabetes drugs I can't imagine a doctor prescribing a diabetes drug to someone who doesn't have diabetes. And without proper tests showing the need for the drug would an insurance policy cover the costs?
I know some are using for weightloss. But that's medical malpractice

[BumRushDaShow]

62. FDA has allowed "off label" use for certain products

and that applies to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy (for weight loss) that took off over the past couple years -

Ozempic, Wegovy drug prescriptions hit 9 million, surge 300% in under three years (from 2023)

Ozempic went from this (2022) -

to this (2025, expanded use and more side-effects reported) -

I remember back in the day when what was a med for high blood pressure - Minoxidil - was found to have an odd side-effect of hair growth and was eventually approved for "off label" use to treat Alopecia (hair loss/baldness), eventually as a standalone for that condition, the most well-known brand being Rogaine. Formulation of it eventually went OTC (not needing a script).

The agency (at least I guess, pre-DOGE) sends/sent out guidance to medical providers about these products.

[ToxMarz]

46. Maybe if they just quit thowing more and more tax breaks at them

and made them pay their fair share, they would have less money burning a hole in their pockets to spend on increasing the amount of money they extracted from our healthcare system towards the bottom line in lieu of actual health care.

[Evolve Dammit]

49. They dominate the airwaves and it is disgusting. People in UK were apalled when they saw

All the ads when Oprah interviewed Harry and Meghan.

[Ineedamoment]

52. Look out 'cause here I come.

[PSPS]

54. They used to be illegal but it was part of saint ronnies attack on america, so they became allowed

[BumRushDaShow]

55. It was enacted under Clinton though.

[PSPS]

56. Nothing was "enacted"

The FDA, already "captured" by a reagan appointee, loosened their regulations on direct-to-consumer drug ads in 1985. What you're probably referring to was a further loosening of the FDA regulations in 1997 that unleashed the current fire hose of "happy smiling bee" ads with the fatal side effects given very short shrift in illegible tiny print and/or a too-fast-to-process voice-over.

[BumRushDaShow]

58. "Nothing was "enacted""

Except that THIS was enacted -

S.830 - Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997

(trust me, I know full well and there was a lot of stuff in that law )

[travelingthrulife]

61. Now do Medicare Advantage advertising...

[ck4829]

63. Ask your doctor if universal healthcare is right for you

Now that's the ad we need to see