The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is cracking down on direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising. It sent out around 100 letters to drug companies warning that many commercials are misleading.

One example the FDA selected was an ad for the drug Fasenra (benralizumab) to treat asthma. The scenarios in the ad depict people who are “sidelined” or “stuck” at home due to breathing problems. Then, we see them leaping into action with their friends, playing pickleball, throwing a frisbee to a dog or dancing.

The FDA objected to this commercial on the grounds that the ad shows “compelling before-and-after presentations [that] imply an improvement in social and emotional functioning. Before Fasenra treatment, the woman is described and presented as bored, stuck at home, and ‘losing [her] groove.’ In contrast, after Fasenra treatment, she is portrayed as someone with an active social life, involving salsa dancing, that is captured on social media as a photo garnering numerous ‘likes.'”

According to the FDA, this emphasis on social and emotional functioning is not supported by clinical studies.

Many readers of this column are fed up with prescription drug ads. They were pleased to learn that the FDA is going to be enforcing its rules against misleading promotions. We frequently hear that people want the ads banned completely.

Pharmaceutical firms have long depended upon First Amendment rights of free speech to shield their messages. The FDA is not planning to ban ads, but it says it will be enforcing strict rules on full safety disclosure. That means lengthier lists of precautions and side effects.

How long will it take before the new rules on prescription drug ads change what we see on television? We asked readers what they think. Here are some of their comments:

It remains to be seen how the pharmaceutical industry will respond to the FDA’s warning letters. The agency says that it will be enforcing its regulations much more aggressively than in the past. If true, we may no longer see nearly as many prescription drug commercials as we have in the past.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 300 W. 57th Street, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10019, or email them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.