RFK Jr. pushes to ban TV ads for prescription drugs as industry fights back

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Health and Human Services, aims to ban TV ads for prescription drugs. He argues that these ads contribute to the chronic disease epidemic and influence media coverage favorably towards the pharmaceutical industry. Kennedy previously pledged to issue an executive order to ban such ads on his first day in office. This follows Trump's earlier attempt to regulate drug commercials, which was blocked by a judge due to lack of congressional authority. The U.S. remains one of the few high-income countries without strict regulations on direct-to-consumer drug ads. The pharmaceutical industry is projected to spend over $5 billion on TV advertising this year, despite concerns from the American Medical Association about rising treatment costs driven by these ads.