Sanders, King Introduce Legislation to Ban Prescription Drug Ads

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced support for a ban.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks in Washington on Sept. 24, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) introduced new legislation on June 12 that would ban advertisements for prescription drugs on television and other platforms.

Companies would not be able to advertise drugs directly to consumers on any platforms if the bill, End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act, is passed and signed into law.

“The American people don’t want to see misleading and deceptive prescription drug ads on television. They want us to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and ban these bogus ads,” Sanders said in a statement.

“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,” King added.

The pharmaceutical industry spent $5 billion on ads on national television alone in 2024, according to data cited by the senators. Companies have been able to advertise directly to consumers since 1997, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act relaxed restrictions.

The government has added new requirements for prescription drug ads in recent years, including requiring companies to clearly present side effects, but allows advertising on television, radio, and other platforms.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade industry group, did not respond to a request for comment on the new bill.

Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) signed on as co-sponsors for the Act.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress, so the senators would need to garner support among the GOP for the bill to pass. It’s not clear whether the White House supports the bill.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while campaigning for president, said that on his first day in office, he would sign an order banning pharmaceutical ads on television. After dropping out of the 2024 race and endorsing President Donald Trump, he urged Trump to ban pharmaceutical television ads.

Kennedy said during a Senate Health Committee hearing in May that pharmaceutical advertising is typically done to “bury the existence and availability of generic drugs that are much cheaper and equally effective.” He added, “And the consumer is spending not his own money, but most often our money, taxpayer money.”

He also said that he supported a bill introduced by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on the day of the hearing and would end tax deductions for pharmaceutical ads.