FDA urges docs to report misleading drug ads

AP/Yahoo News, May 12, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration announced it will begin asking doctors to keep an eye out for misleading drug advertisements as part of the agency's latest effort to police the pharmaceutical industry's multibillion-dollar marketing efforts. The agency's "bad ad program" urges doctors to report ads and sales pitches that violate FDA rules. Drug companies are legally required to present a balanced picture of a drug's benefits and risks in promotions, though critics charge that many TV and magazine ads fail to do so, the Associated Press reports.