Bill Would Restrict Air Time for Advertisements for Erectile-Dysfunction Medications, USA

Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 22 Mar 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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Rep James Moran (D-Va) last week introduced a bill under which television and radio advertisements for erectile-dysfunction medications such as Viagra could air only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the... AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Moran said that he introduced the legislation because Medicare next year will begin to cover ED medications and that, as a result, the federal government essentially will help finance the ads. "You can hardly watch primetime television or a major sporting event with your family without ads warning of the dangers of a 'four-hour experience' airing every 10 minutes," Moran said, adding, "They just push the envelope too far ... there's just too much sexual innuendo." Moran, who introduced similar legislation that failed last year, said that the new bill will face a number of challenges. "When it comes to family values versus corporate profits, corporate profit prevails. You don't accomplish much more than exposing the hypocrisy of some of these religious-right extremists," he said. A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America declined to comment on legislation (Barakat, AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/20).

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