Big Drug Companies Try to Hide the Truth with Slick Television Ads

October 27, 2007

On the heels of recent drug recalls, accusations of political influence and

outrage over high prescription drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry has

begun a campaign to bolster its image. An article in The Hill details a

" Healthcare Campfire with Billy Tauzin, " a recent effort by the

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the major

lobbying group for big drug companies. Launched last month as part of a

campaign that also includes several websites and weekly radio shows, the

half-hour television program is hosted by Billy Tauzin, a former Republican

congressman from Louisiana and the head of PhRMA since 2005.

Though they are paid advertisements, the episodes are promoted as public

affairs programs and feature interview segments with guests such as talk

show host Montel Williams and former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

Reports on drug research and other various health topics are narrated by

ex-professional broadcasters and produced to look like local news, the

result of over $1 million spent on a high-tech studio and control room that

could be found at a television station. PhRMA aims for the show to be

nationally broadcast by the end of 2008.

At the same time, Prescription Access Litigation (PAL), a national coalition

of groups - including the Alliance - that challenges illegal and costly

tactics by the pharmaceutical industry, called for increased enforcement by

the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) against misleading prescription

drug direct-to-consumer advertisements. The call was part of comments

offered to the FDA regarding its proposed study of on-screen images

appearing while the risks and side effects of drugs are read during

advertisements, and whether they change how viewers understand drug safety

information.

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