Sanders, King introduce bill banning prescription drug ads

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Angus King have introduced a bill that would ban prescription drug advertisements.

The two independent senators who caucus with Democrats on Thursday introduced the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act, which would prohibit prescription drug advertising on television, radio, print, digital platforms, and social media.

“The American people are sick and tired of greedy pharmaceutical companies spending billions of dollars on absurd TV commercials pushing their outrageously expensive prescription drugs,” said Sanders, of Vermont.

“With the exception of New Zealand, the United States is the only country in the world where it is legal for pharmaceutical companies to advertise their drugs on television. It is time for us to end that international embarrassment."

King, of Maine, said: “The widespread use of direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies drives up costs and doesn’t necessarily make patients healthier. ... This bill is a great step to ensure that patients are getting the best information possible and from the right source: their providers and not biased advertisements.”

The cosponsors of the bill are Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy, of Connecticut; Peter Welch, of Vermont; Jeff Merkley, of Oregon; and Dick Durbin, of Illinois.

The legislation follows Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s calls to ban prescription drug TV ads.

In the announcement of the legislation, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions noted that 10 of the largest drug companies made more than $100 billion in profits last year while the pharmaceutical industry spent over $5 billion on TV ads.

"Prescription drug commercials now account for more than 30% of commercial time on major networks’ evening news programs," according to the HELP Committee. "In the first three months of this year, Big Pharma spent more than $725 million advertising just 10 drugs. Meanwhile, the American people pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and one in four Americans cannot afford the costs of the medicine their doctors prescribe."