Where Have All the Prescription Drug Ads Gone?

If you are a reader of this newsletter and website, you know that we have been highly critical of prescription drug advertising directly to consumers (DTC). Here is our most recent article titled: “Sick of Prescription Drug Ads? FULL WARNINGS Could Curtail Commercials!” In it we describe how the FDA will be clamping down on Pharma’s commercials. To our amazement, the Food and Drug Administration did not waste any time. The agency has sent out lots of warning letters to some of the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturers. Is it our imagination or have a lot of prescription drug ads gone bye-bye? We need your help in tracking what’s going on.

The FDA Commissioner Goes Ballistic!

Last week Marty Makary, MD, MPH wrote a “Viewpoint” in JAMA (Sept. 12, 2025) titled:

“The FDA’s Overdue Crackdown on Misleading Pharmaceutical Advertisements”

and he also wrote an Opinion Guest Essay for the New York Times (Sept. 13, 2025) titled:

“I Run the F.D.A.
Pharma Ads Are Hurting Americans.“

Dr. Makary does not pull his punches:

“American drug advertisements are filled with dancing patients, glowing smiles and catchy jingles that drown out the fine print. It’s not education — it’s distraction by design. This is not how the practice of medicine is supposed to be.”

The FDA Sent Lots of Warning Letters!

According to the news reports, the FDA has already sent out around 100 warning and “untitled” letters to a bunch of drug companies ranging from AstraZeneca and Novartis to Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. This kind of kick-ass action is unprecedented. We have never seen such a concerted enforcement effort by the FDA.

There are the naysayers, though. We have read that drug companies could ignore the warning letters. But we suspect that most pharmaceutical manufacturers do not want to get on the wrong side of the FDA or HHS (Health and Human Services).

In his “Viewpoint” in JAMA (Sept. 12, 2025) Dr. Makary makes the FDA’s intent crystal clear:

“Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising has evolved into a public health crisis demanding immediate action by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For nearly 3 decades, pharmaceutical companies have exploited weak enforcement, flooding US consumers with promotional content that is often misleading.

“Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA is charged with regulating all prescription drug ads to ensure they represent a ‘fair balance’ of risks and benefits and do not create a “misleading impression.” The agency is now transitioning from reactive, complaint-driven oversight to proactive monitoring of pharmaceutical advertising across all media platforms.

“The FDA’s enforcement trajectory demonstrates a regulatory collapse over the past 25 years. In the late 1990s, the agency sent hundreds of enforcement letters annually to companies violating advertising regulations. By 2023, this number had plummeted to just 1 letter. In 2024, the FDA did not send a single enforcement letter.

“The regulatory neglect of the past 25 years ends now. Americans deserve better than a system in which pharmaceutical companies exploit regulatory loopholes while patients are misled and health care costs escalate. We will no longer tolerate deceptive practices that distort the patient-doctor relationship and waste billions of dollars in health care resources that could be better spent lowering drug prices for Americans.”

Are Many Prescription Drug Ads Gone Now?

It almost seems too good to be true! You may remember the song written by Pete Seeger in 1955  titled:

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

Peter, Paul and Mary recorded the song in 1962.  I took liberties and abbreviated the lyrics in this rendition:

“Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing

“Young girls have picked them, every one
Oh, when will they ever learn?

“Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone for husbands, every one

“Where have all the husbands gone?
Gone for soldiers, every one

“Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one

“Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, every one
When will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?”

Are Prescription Drugs Ads Gone, Every One?

Probably not. We don’t watch a lot of TV, so we are not good judges of television advertising. But I have done a little fast forwarding to commercials on some of the cable channels. Normally, I try to avoid as many commercials as possible. But this time I was trying to determine how many pharmaceutical commercials are currently airing.

I got the impression that there were fewer prescription drug ads than usual. Normally, it seems as if every commercial break has at least one pharmaceutical ad. Sometimes there are two or three.

My search was not scientific. But I began to wonder: are many prescription drugs ads gone thanks to the FDA warning letters?

We need your help! If you watch any television, please let us know in the comment section below if many prescription drugs ads are “gone to graveyards, every one.” Well, maybe not every one…but perhaps some?

We would be super grateful if you could enlist friends or family in this unscientific study of the question:

Are Prescription Drug Ads Gone?

It will take watching commercials instead of zooming through them as I normally do. Please let us know how many you see compared to the bad old days. Thank you for supporting our work!