US Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King introduced a bill Thursday to ban direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising across TV, radio, print, digital and social media.
The "End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act" aims to halt what the senators call misleading and expensive marketing by pharmaceutical companies. The bill aligns with repeated calls from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to end such advertising, according to a statement from Sanders' Office Thursday.
Sanders said the US and New Zealand are the only countries where pharmaceutical companies can air TV commercials advertising prescription drugs.
King said that widespread pharmaceutical advertising "drives up costs and doesn't necessarily make patients healthier," emphasizing the need for patients to receive information from providers, not biased ads.
Senate data showed that the pharmaceutical industry spent over $5 billion on TV ads last year, including $725 million on just 10 drugs in 2024, despite studies finding that more than half of these ads are misleading or offer little added benefit over existing treatments, according to a statement from Sanders.
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