❌

Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Before yesterdayMain stream

Did drug companies spend $10 billion on consumer advertising in 2024, making up nearly 25% of evening ad minutes?

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners withΒ GigafactΒ to produce fact briefs β€” bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Pharmaceutical companies spent over $10.1 billion on drug advertising in 2024 with the top 10 drugs accounting for a third of spending. Over $5 billion of the spending was on TV ads, with the other half spent on radio, print, streaming and online ads.Β Β 

The advertising for these pharmaceutical companies made up 24.4% of evening ad minutes on news programs through ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC between Jan. 1 and May 31 of this year.Β 

Drug company AbbVie spent the most, totaling over $1 billion on ads for Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which are used to treat inflammatory conditions. AbbVie increased spending on advertisements for Skyrizi by 150%.

Between 2023 and 2024, consumer advertising of the weight management drug Wegovy increased 330%. During that period, usage among teens increased 50%.

The U.S. is one of only two countries that allow direct pharmaceutical advertising.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Did drug companies spend $10 billion on consumer advertising in 2024, making up nearly 25% of evening ad minutes? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Is the US one of only two nations that allow direct advertising of prescription drugs?Β 

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners withΒ GigafactΒ to produce fact briefs β€” bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

The U.S. and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow direct advertising on prescription drugs, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy professor Dr. David Kreling, a pharmaceutical policy and marketing expert.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration approves marketing of prescription drugs through the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The act also prohibits using false or misleading information in advertisements.

The FDA requires advertisements to present the statement on a drug’s side effects in a β€œclear, conspicuous, and neutral manner.”

Most countries prohibit direct advertising of pharmaceuticals because some available drugs aren’t tested enough to guard against rare but potentially severe side effects.

While the U.S. has never had a federal law banning direct advertising of prescription drugs, companies did not publicize prescription information through direct advertisements until the 1980s. Previously only doctors and pharmacists received that information.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., made the claim April 21.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Is the US one of only two nations that allow direct advertising of prescription drugs?Β  is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

❌
❌