Despites its decision earlier this month not to seek an outright ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs [WAMN: 06-Jun-06], the American Medical Association is calling for a moratorium on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, as well as that for implantable medical devices.
Urges AMA president-elect Dr Ronald Davis: ""A temporary moratorium on DTC advertising of prescribed drugs and medical devices will benefit both the patient and physician.
"Physicians will have the opportunity to become better educated on the pros and cons of prescription drug uses before prescribing them, and will be better able to determine when they are best suited for their patients medical needs."
The medical body has also adopted new guidelines for DTC advertising, which it claims will guarantee that "objective information" reaches the consumer. They are also intended to ensure warnings and precautionary advice are presented to the public in "a clear and understandable way."
Data sourced from AdWeek (USA); additional content by WARC staff
