Read this with a jaundiced eye

Drug Industry Proposes Limits on Advertising

Facing a reaction against consumer drug advertising, the pharmaceutical industry moved toward self-policing yesterday, releasing draft guidelines that endorse a period of informing doctors about new drugs before running ads for them.

But the code stops short of setting a time span between a drug’s release and the beginning of ads, as had been called for by industry critics who say doctors need time to understand drugs before patients start asking for them. The guidelines say only that drug makers should have “conversations with physicians” before advertising new products.

It is unclear how far those conversations would go beyond current industry efforts to educate doctors about new drugs. But Ken Johnson, a senior vice president for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said, “There’s a clear recognition by our companies that there should be an appropriate period of time to educate physicians before any new ad campaign begins.”

The guidelines, whose final wording is still being worked out, try to address growing pressure from a variety of fronts, including Capitol Hill and the American Medical Association, and even from within the industry itself. Last month Bristol-Myers Squibb adopted its own voluntary 12-month delay between product debut and advertising.

A large consumer group yesterday reacted with skepticism to the industry guidelines. “It appears the pharmaceutical industry has produced a placebo rather than supporting real reform of drug advertising,” said Rob Schneider of Consumers Union, who called the guidelines primarily a good will gesture aimed at calming Congress.