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SJM104................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS - ADVERTISEMENT - Stating findings of the Legislature
and requesting the Congress of the United States to enact legislation
requiring specific content for prescription drug advertising with
name-brand drug identifications.
02/12 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13 Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE SENATE
SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 104
BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS
3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
5 We, your Memorialists, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
6 State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho
7 Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
8 WHEREAS, every year over 36,000 direct-to-consumer, name-brand prescrip-
9 tion drug advertisements are submitted to the United States Food and Drug
10 Administration and immediately advertised in the television, radio or print
11 media. In addition, brochures promoting these name-brand prescription drugs
12 are distributed to physicians without prior United States Food and Drug Admin-
13 istration review; and
14 WHEREAS, between 1997 and 2005, pharmaceutical company spending on direct-
15 to-consumer advertising has increased twice as fast as spending on drug promo-
16 tion to physicians or on research and development; and
17 WHEREAS, the pharmaceutical companies describe their direct-to-consumer
18 advertisements as general public health education, even though such advertise-
19 ments often contain inaccuracies that range from the minimization of the pre-
20 scription drug's risks to promotion of unapproved uses to false claims of
21 superiority over competitors' products; and
22 WHEREAS, spending on direct-to-consumer advertisements skyrocketed from
23 $80 million in 1996 to $4.2 billion in 2005; and
24 WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration has no statutory
25 authority to preapprove content of direct-to-consumer prescription drug adver-
26 tisements; and
27 WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration enforcement of its
28 regulations on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising has been inad-
29 equate and ineffective; and
30 WHEREAS, almost one-half of the $20.8 billion increase in retail spending
31 on prescription drugs in 2000 was driven by the sale of the fifty most heavily
32 advertised name-brand prescription drugs, and the other 9,850 drugs repre-
33 sented the other one-half; and
34 WHEREAS, direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising encourages
35 patients to request name-brand prescription medications that are not necessar-
36 ily medically indicated, resulting in a twenty-five percent increase in pre-
37 scriptions for the fifty most heavily advertised drugs between 1999 and 2000,
38 compared to a four percent increase for other drugs; and
39 WHEREAS, consumers who have been exposed to direct-to-consumer prescrip-
40 tion drug advertisements are much more likely to request and receive a name-
41 brand prescription drug even though there may be other options that are
42 equally effective and far less expensive; and
43 WHEREAS, direct-to-consumer advertising is limited to only the most expen-
44 sive and profitable drugs; and
2
1 WHEREAS, the increase in prescriptions of the direct-to-consumer adver-
2 tised, name-brand drugs is driving up the cost of our entire healthcare sys-
3 tem; and
4 WHEREAS, as in the Vioxx case, direct-to-consumer advertisements are often
5 released as soon as a drug is approved by the FDA and before the long-term
6 side effects are known, causing unwitting Americans to become test subjects;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, the United States is only one of two western, industrialized
9 countries that has not banned all direct-to-consumer prescription drug adver-
10 tisements.
11 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
12 of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Representa-
13 tives concurring therein, that we respectfully request the Congress of the
14 United States to enact legislation to require specific content for advertising
15 of prescription drugs including information regarding who may be at risk of
16 disease, detailing nonpharmacological options, and describing alternative
17 treatments as well as to appropriate additional funds to the United States
18 Food and Drug Administration to hire adequate staff to handle the increased
19 workload of screening direct-to-consumer advertisements for adherence to the
20 new standard.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is
22 hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the Pres-
23 ident of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Con-
24 gress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the
25 Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16943
This memorial outlines concerns regarding direct-to-consumer
advertising to pharmaceuticals. The memorial also requests
Congress to exercise more control over advertising content and
provide adequate funding so that the Food and Drug Administration
can provide adequate oversight of direct-to-consumer advertising.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the state general fund.
Contact
Name: Senator Elliot Werk, Senator Chuck Coiner
Representative Margaret Henbest
Representative Sue Chew
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE SJM 104