Drug makers stop naming medications in TV ads

NEW YORK Some drug makers are using indirect tactics to market their drugs on television while dodging the Food and Drug Administration’s requirement to list side effects, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Journal highlighted a Pfizer commercial aired during the Beijing Olympics featuring a middle-aged woman talking about her smoking habit and detailing ways to quit smoking. The commercial directed viewers to the Web site www.mytimetoquit.com, which itself contained a link to Pfizer’s site for the anti-smoking drug Chantix (varenicline).

Under FDA regulations, companies must list side effects only if they directly name the drug.

The Chantix Web site does list the drug’s side effects, notably suicidal behaviors that earlier this year prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ban its use among pilots.

Sanofi-Aventis has used similar tactics to market its insomnia drug Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) with a 15-second commercial directing viewers to the Web site www.silenceyourrooster.com.