Last fall, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary declared war on drug commercials. He wrote a viewpoint published in JAMA (Sept. 12, 2025) titled, “The FDA’s Overdue Crackdown on Misleading Pharmaceutical Advertisements.”

He went further with a guest essay in The New York Times titled “I Run the F.D.A. Pharma Ads Are Hurting Americans” (Sept. 13, 2025). In the article, Dr. Makary noted that “American drug advertisements are filled with dancing patients, glowing smiles and catchy jingles that drown out the fine print. It’s not education — it’s distraction by design. This is not how the practice of medicine is supposed to be.”

We could not agree more. And judging from the comments we have received, many readers and health professionals also find prescription drug commercials offensive.

We were excited to learn that the FDA would be cracking down on pharma ads. We expected prompt action based on the FDA Commissioner’s strong words.

That was six months ago. As far as we can tell, there have been no obvious changes to prescription drug ads directed to consumers. The FDA said in September that it had sent about a hundred letters to pharmaceutical firms regarding their ads. There was a response deadline of 15 days.

We have not learned whether any of the companies met that deadline nor what they may have replied. And although we have inquired, the FDA has not revealed what it plans to do about prescription drug commercials.

Like you, though, we are still seeing drug advertisements that seem designed to distract viewers. One example is a commercial for Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis. One woman begins by stating, “I told myself I was OK with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms … but just OK isn’t OK and I was done settling.” We next see her leading two other women on a hike through a forest. They lift a large log off the path, pick berries and eventually end up on a picturesque mountain top overlooking a beautiful vista.

While all this is going on, we hear an announcer describing possible adverse drug reactions: “Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections. Before treatment, test for TB and do blood work. Serious infections, blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; GI tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred.”

In the closing argument for his New York Times essay, Dr. Makary wrote: “Over the last several years, drug companies have increasingly gamed the system. Those days are over. We are taking drug marketing claims seriously and making our regulatory standards transparent. We are restoring honesty and accountability in drug advertising to protect patients and rebuild public trust.

The billions of dollars drug companies spend on advertising would be better spent on lowering drug prices for American consumers.”

According to market researchers, pharmaceutical firms spent more than $7 billion advertising their products on television in 2025. That was reported to be a 16% increase over the prior year.

We imagine that most readers of this newspaper column agree with the FDA’s goals to make drug ads honest and accountable. How will the agency enforce its standards? When can we expect to see the results? Will we ever see fewer prescription drug commercials on television?

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. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”