Drug industry advertising and marketing activities are linked to higher prices, improper prescribing, off-label marketing and invasion of privacy. Although regulation of advertising and marketing has traditionally been the province of the federal government, states are tackling the issue in a variety of ways. NLARx is working with state legislators to rein in harmful marketing and advertising practices through initiatives to disclose industry spending on direct to consumer advertising, gifts to providers and other marketing campaigns; regulate drug detailers; promote independent “academic” detailing programs; establish conflict of interest rules; protect patient and doctor privacy by restricting the commercial use of prescription data; and beef up state authority to enforce federal misleading advertising and consumer fraud rules and enforcement. Recent state legislation inlcudes Vermont Bill S. 48.

Researching this Issue

Model laws and best practices, testimony supporting these initiatives, and background information and research materials including reports, legal briefs, and news articles on direct to consumer advertising, pharmaceutical marketing and detailers, data mining and confidentiality issues are posted here. Other relevant materials may be found on the issue page relating to Safety & Clinical Trials, which has materials and policies on academic detailing and posting of drug efficacy and safety data, on the Pharma Watch page which details the promotional and lobbying activities of the pharmaceutical industry, and on the Medicare & Medicaid page which include information on state False Claims Acts and lawsuits enforcing state and federal fraud laws. See also the Related Links below to connect to other organizations and materials relevant to this issue.

Legal Challenges to State Laws Protecting Prescriber Data

New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have each passed laws to prohibit the sale of confidential prescriber data for marketing purposes. The laws have subsequently been challenged by datamining firms in the Courts. In November 2008, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of New Hampshire's law. NLARx has pages with the relevent documents for the cases in each state:

• New Hampshire
• Vermont
• Maine