Tom Harkin: “We have to get a handle on this. We all have first amendment concerns. People have the right to advertise, but I…”

“We have to get a handle on this. We all have first amendment concerns. People have the right to advertise, but I question whether they can advertise in a way, like with Vioxx, where they tell you all the benefits, but they do not tell you the risks, or they put them in such little fine print that it takes a 50-power magnifying glass to read them. On television, how many of you have seen the ads where they come on with this wonderful advertisement of a drug, and then in the end it says: Not to be taken by, and it goes so fast you can't understand what they are saying. It is akin to listening to an auctioneer. You can't understand what they are saying. So you see all the benefits of it, but you don't get any of the downsides. One might ask: Why are companies doing it? Well, simple. They make money. The Kaiser Family Foundation found an additional $4.20 in savings for every dollar spent on advertising. There you go. If you could spend a dollar and make $4.20, who wouldn't? So we have to ask some questions. What happens when we create an artificial demand? What is the effect on our budget?”