Trump signed memo to restrict prescription drug advertisements in media and social networks

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum aimed at officially restricting all consumer-facing ads for prescription drugs. Trump's move instructs Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary to take action to ensure accuracy and transparency in drug advertisements, including increasing information related to the risks of individual products.

As reported by CNBC, some Trump Administration officials commented that the government would send in the coming days around 100 cease-and-desist letters and thousands of warning letters alerting companies that the White House plans to enforce all existing regulations on such advertisements. Similarly, officials detailed to the media outlet that the Trump administration would plan to monitor both social media and influencers paid to promote drugs that do not comply with the rules their manufacturers must follow.

"There has been broad frustration with the increasing prevalence of these ads creating a misleading impression, specifically not disclosing side effects appropriately – ads that have encroached now into social media without proper disclosures, and ads of online pharmacies that are not following the same rules that many pharmaceutical companies follow," one of the Trump Administration officials told CNBC.

Similarly, another official told the media outlet that "Our goal is to ensure that patients have proper information about drugs that have potential harms, and it’s to rebuild public trust," adding that the White House planned to use current regulations on advertisements rather than seek new rules, considering the difficulty this step could poseand the time it could take.