SUMMARY

To ban, or not to ban DTC advertising: that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler for the pharma industry to suffer
The slings and arrows of politicians seeking the office of presidency,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, Republican and Democrat
And by opposing end them?

The pharmaceutical industry must be reeling from the blow delivered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) who called upon the drug industry to impose "a two-year moratorium on advertising for new drugs and a government audit to determine how drug ads have affected the way Americans are treated for illness."

This article takes a critical look at Frist's proposal and other emerging DTC reform ideas. Included are reactions to the Frist proposal from PhRMA, AMA, advertising trade associations, and from pharmaceutical marketing professional members of the PHARMA-MKTING online discussion group.

Topics covered include:

• Frist to Industry: Time to Clean Up Your Act
• Deconstructing Frist's Proposal
• DTC Issue Has Political Wings
• DTC and Docs
• Education vs. Promotion
• ED Drug Ads: Bad Boys of DTC
• DTC and Drug Prices
• DTC and Communicating Risk
• FDA Weakness
• Emerging DTC Principles
• Additional Steps
• No Carrot, Just a Stick
• Reaction from Pharma Marketing Experts