The issue of First Amendment rights was used to defeat a Congressional safety ban on TV ads for new prescription drugs. The ban would have made the new drug safety law, the FDA Amendments Act of 2007, stronger than the version signed by the President. The biopharmaceutical industry lobbied behind the scenes against the ban despite recent safety problems with new products. Polls show people believe that the drug industry puts profits ahead of people. However, there is opportunity for individual companies to turn that image around by voluntarily restricting their new drug ads. Most TV commercials promote drugs on the market for under three years [my most significant finding].
