You Can't Say That on Television: Constitutional Analysis of a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban

Abstract

In one year, you will watch roughly sixteen hours of pharmaceutical advertisements. Sometime during those sixteen hours, you may recognize in yourself the symptoms portrayed in the advertisements. You may even wonder whether you would benefit from a particular drug. But will you visit your doctor with the fear that you may be suffering from a previously undiagnosed disease? Will you encourage your doctor to prescribe the medication you saw in the advertisements? Will your insurance cover the costs of your medication? More importantly, will you even need the medication at all?The trend in the pharmaceutical industry to increase yearly spending on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) seems almost disrespectful considering the magnitude of the healthcare crisis in which the United States is currently embroiled. This notion is inflamed when accounting for the fact that (arguably) one of the biggest problems in our healthcare system is the amount of money spent on healthcare each year.