Attempts to regulate direct to consumer advertising

The New York Times has published an article on different attempts by legislators to enact laws to regulate the use of direct to consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies. For example, the article mentions that Representative James P. Moran, Democrat of Virginia, is sponsoring a House bill that would ban ads for prescription sexual aids like Viagra and Levitra from prime-time television, on decency grounds. Obviously, on those grounds, the bill has no chance. Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, on the other hand favors a more reasoned approach. He is said to favor empowering the F.D.A. to bar consumer ads for new drugs for an initial period after the F.D.A. approves them — until there has been more real-world experience with the medications. Thanks to the TortsProf Blog for the information.