New FDA Rules For TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language And No Distractions

WASHINGTON (AP) — New rules require drugmakers to be clearer about explaining the risks and side effects of prescription drugs.

The new guidelines from the the Food and Drug Administration are designed to do away with pharmaceutical industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information.

FDA officials spent more than 15 years crafting the rules, which apply to both TV and radio ads.

But while regulators were drafting them, a new trend has emerged: pharmaceutical influencers pushing drugs online with little government oversight.

A new congressional proposal would compel FDA to police those social media promotions.