Birth Control Pill Ad Crackdown by FDA

Can birth control pills solve your every problem, including headaches? You might think so, judging from some TV commercials.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now says that a drug company has gone too far, and the agency has ordered Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals to run a $20 million ad campaign correcting claims that their popular birth control pill Yaz can clear up acne, general mood problems, irritability, anxiety, and premenstrual symptoms.

In a Feb. 10 article titled, “A Birth Control Pill that Promised Too Much,” the New York Times said that the FDA’s action was “an unusual crackdown on deceptive consumer drug advertising.” The FDA action was joined by attorneys general in 27 states.

But the $20 million ad campaign that Bayer must run is only “chump change” for the pharmaceutical giant, according to Bruce L. Lambert, a professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago, as quoted in the Pharma Marketing Network Forums. For them, he said it was “just the cost of doing business.”

Indeed, drug companies spent $5 billion in direct-to-consumer advertising in 2007, which is more than twice the total FDA budget, according to the popular blog Cab Drollery. Since some of its more popular products are nearing their patent expirations and opening manufacturing to generic competitors, Bayer has piled on the advertising to increase its market share.

“Obviously that $5 billion ad budget was money well-spent for the pharmaceutical companies,” Cab Drollery said, “but hardly beneficial to the people who watched the commercials….”

Advertising for oral contraceptives includes little about various possible side effects such as breast cancer, bloodclot formation, and cardiovascular disease.

Women in Berwyn, Oak Park, Stickney, LaGrange, Cicero, Westchester, and nearby towns can learn more about the true effects of oral contraceptives by contacting WomanCare Services in Berwyn, IL.
WomanCare Services offers help to women facing unintended pregnancies in the near southwest Chicago area. Go to WomanCare Services. Or call 708-795-6000.