Letter To John C Lechleiter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company

Letter

Moran to Drug Companies: Tone Down Offensive ED Ads

Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, sent letters today to the heads of three major pharmaceutical companies calling on them to moderate advertising for erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs such as Viagra and Cialis.

The letters, addressed to the President and CEOs of Pfizer, Eli Lily, and GlaxoSmithKline, follow introduction last week of the "Families for ED Advertising Decency Act" (H.R. 2175), legislation authored by Moran that would prohibit advertisements for ED drugs between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on network broadcast television and radio.

In the letter, the Congressman references the frustration he's heard from parents fed up with the tone and frequency of these advertisements. He notes in the letter that:

"Many parents I talk with are frustrated and annoyed by the overwhelming presence of these ads during programs they watch with their children. Parents should be able to watch a football game with their kids without having to either mute the television or explain the side effects of a life enhancement drug."

Moran further explains why concerned parents currently lack the ability to prevent their children from viewing these advertisements:

"While the FCC establishes standards that control what television networks are able to broadcast and parents have access to the V-chip allowing them to monitor what programs their kids can watch, neither option prevents embarrassing and inappropriate commercials from being broadcast into our homes.

In his letter, Moran requests that the industry:

…consider these concerns and take it upon yourself to limit and moderate this sort of advertising. If the industry continues to prove incapable of self-regulation, H.R. 2175 exists to address our concerns.

The full text of the letters to the heads of Eli Lily, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline is listed below:

John C. Lechleiter
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly Corporate Center
Indianapolis, Indiana 46285

Deidre Connelly
President, North American Pharmaceuticals
GlaxoSmithKline
One Franklin Plaza
PO Box 7929
Philadelphia PA 19101

Jeffrey B. Kindle
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Pfizer, Inc.
235 East 42nd Street
NY, NY 10017

Dear Sir or Madam,

As you may know, I recently reintroduced H.R 2175, the "Families for ED Advertising Decency Act." This legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revise its decency standard and treat as indecent any erectile dysfunction prescription advertisement broadcast between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on radio or television.

When I originally introduced this legislation in 2005, a verbal agreement was reached with some of the pharmaceutical company executives that they would tone down their ads and limit their airing before 10 p.m. While that seemed to hold for some time, four years later these ads appear to have become even more pervasive and explicit.

In 2007 alone, drug manufacturers Pfizer (Viagra), Lilly (Cialis) and GlaxoSmithKline (Levitra) spent more than $300 million in advertising their products. Cialis' advertising expenditures were up to $152 million in 2007, more than 250 percent over 2006. These drugs generate billions of dollars in annual sales for their manufacturers who, in turn, have made every attempt to increase their market share for these lifestyle drugs through increasingly aggressive marketing campaigns.

Many parents I talk with are frustrated and annoyed by the overwhelming presence of these ads during programs they watch with their children. Parents should be able to watch a football game with their kids without having to either mute the television or explain the side effects of a life enhancement drug. While the FCC establishes standards that control what television networks are able to broadcast and parents have access to the V-chip allowing them to monitor what programs their kids can watch, neither option prevents embarrassing and inappropriate commercials from being broadcast into our homes.

I hope that you will consider these concerns and take it upon yourself to limit and moderate this sort of advertising. If the industry continues to prove incapable of self-regulation, H.R. 2175 exists to address our concerns.

I look forward to discussing these issues with you.

Sincerely,

James P. Moran

Cc: The Honorable Billy Tauzin, President and CEO - PhRMA
Chairman Henry Waxman (CA-30), House Energy and Commerce Committee

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