Is exposure to pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising for heart disease and diabetes associated with physical activity and dietary behavior?

CONTEXT: Scholars have suggested that direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs may discourage or encourage changes in lifestyle to improve health. The current paper informs this debate by examining associations between estimated exposure to DTCA for drugs focused on heart disease/cholesterol and diabetes and self-reported exercise and consumption of a variety of unhealthy foods (candy, sugary drinks, alcohol, and fast food). METHODS: We estimated exposure to DTCA by combining data from Kantar Media Intelligence (Kantar) on televised pharmaceutical DTCA airings in the U.S. from January 2003 to August 2016 (n = 7,696,851 airings) with thirteen years of data from the Simmons National Consumer Survey (Simmons), a mailed survey on television viewing patterns. We estimated associations between exposure to advertising (both overall and for advertisements with specific content) and self-reported physical activity and dietary behavior using Simmons data from January 2004 to December 2016 (n = 288,483 respondents from n = 157,621 unique households in the U.S.). Our analysis controls for many potential confounders including respondent demographics, temporal trends, and program placement to account for purposeful ad targeting to higher-risk adults. FINDINGS: Higher estimated exposure to DTCA for heart disease and diabetes drugs were not consistently associated with meaningful differences in the frequency of engaging in regular physical activity. Greater estimated exposure to DTCA for both diseases were, linked to small but consistently higher volume of consumption of candy, sugar-sweetened beverages, alcohol, and fast food. Specific DTCA message content about diet and exercise explained very little of the observed association between overall DTCA exposure volume and study outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Many Americans were regularly exposed to pharmaceutical DTCA for heart disease and diabetes from 2003 to 2016. Widespread exposure to such DTCA is associated with higher levels (though small in magnitude) of consuming alcohol, fast food, candy, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Perceived threat and fear responses to e-cigarette warning label messages: Results from 16 focus groups with U.S. youth and adults.

AIMS: A warning on e-cigarette packaging is one way the U.S. government can inform the public of known harms of e-cigarette use. Currently, the only required warning on these products is: "WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical." This exploratory study aims to inform potential future investigations and FDA decisions regarding alternative warnings that may generate fear in addition to being intentionally informational. METHOD: Data were obtained from responses by 16 online focus groups with adult (N = 47, age range = 18-64) and youth (N = 32, age range 14-16) participants with various smoking and vaping experiences. We showed each focus group a set of hypothetical e-cigarette warning labels to determine how they respond to currently existing public statements that communicate information on the toxicity of ingredients in e-cigarettes, potential health risks, addiction to nicotine, and the uncertainty of the science regarding health effects of using these products. The focus group interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were subjected to a multiphase coding process to identify common response themes. Codes derived from the Extended Parallel Processing Model were then applied to understand impact of potentially fear-inducing language by warning category and age group. RESULTS: For adults, all warnings-except those about addiction-gave rise to spontaneous danger control (intended) responses, such as quit intentions. Warnings highlighting cognitive and uncertain effects may be particularly promising for adult consumers of tobacco products because both gengerated danger control and response efficacy without evidence of fear control. However, responses also suggest that warnings risk discouraging some adults who use combustible cigarettes from transitioning to e-cigarettes for harm reduction. For youth, while evidence of response efficacy and danger control emerged among youth exposed to messages in all warning categories but one-addiction-unproductive reactions indicative of fear control were also prevalent among youth respondent across most warning types. On average, youth were more skeptical than adults about the harms of using e-cigarettes. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Implications of study findings for the development of future effective e-cigarette warning messages are explored.

Challenges in communicating the benefits of switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes: Responses from eight adult focus groups with varying smoking experience.

This study explored the effectiveness of nuanced messages, described in our study as warnings, that seek to convey the potential benefits of switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes for adults. The messages were designed to convey the potentially complex idea that e-cigarettes are likely less harmful than combustible cigarettes but that e-cigarettes still present a risk. Eight adult focus groups (N = 37) with varying smoking profiles responded to a set of messages that are used by government agencies and non-government organizations to convey the benefits of switching and ongoing risk associated with e-cigarette use. Results indicate that a suggestion of health benefits from exclusive use of e-cigarettes was met with skepticism from users of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes, and generated confusion about what these benefits were. Messages suggesting that individuals who have switched to e-cigarettes should not switch back to combustible cigarettes elicited the strongest statements of doubt and mistrust among focus group participants, regardless of smoking status. Participants representing all smoking profiles agreed with the message suggesting that switching from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes still exposes the user to ongoing health risks. Our focus group discussions suggest that adult smokers may not interpret nuanced messages about harm reduction in a way that will encourage switching behavior.

Maintaining a Fair Balance? Narrative and Non-Narrative Strategies in Televised Direct-to-Consumer Advertisements for Prescription Drugs Aired in the United States, 2003-2016.

Televised direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs (hereafter DTCA) are among the most widespread forms of health communication encountered by American adults. DTCA shape public understanding of health problems and support the commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies by offering prescription drugs as a treatment option. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires DTCA to present fair and balanced information regarding drug benefits versus risks. While narrative persuasion theory suggests that narratives can enhance persuasion by facilitating message processing and reducing counter-arguing, prior assessments of the balance between drug benefits versus risk information in DTCA have largely overlooked whether the ads employ narratives and/or other evidentiary strategies that may confer a persuasive advantage. This study content analyzed narrativity in DTCA aired on television between 2003 and 2016 for four different health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, depression, and osteoarthritis). Results showed that while televised DTCA spent more time discussing drug risks than drug benefits, both narratives and factual evidence were more frequently used to communicate drug benefits than drug risks. These findings raise concerns that narratives are strategically used by DTCA to highlight drug benefits rather than drug risks, which could lead to inaccurate perceptions of drug risks among viewers.

Messages in prescription drug advertising for four chronic diseases, 2003-2016: A content analysis.

The objective of this study was to examine the frequency and content of messages related to pharmacological and evidence-based, non-pharmaceutical treatments in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs treating four chronic diseases in the United States. We used content coding to identify theory-informed categories of messages appearing in a large sample of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and osteoarthritis advertisements, appearing on national and local television between 2003 and 2016 (N = 11,347,070). The data were originally accessed in 2019 and analyzed in 2020-2021. The central message in all pharmaceutical DTCA was drug efficacy. Advertisements for diabetes and heart disease, but not depression or osteoarthritis, contained general (not central) messages about diet and exercise. Advertisements for heart disease primarily portrayed diet and exercise as insufficient for controlling the target health condition. No advertisements in our sample portrayed changes in diet or physical activity as an alternative to drugs. Pharmaceutical DTCA across health conditions employ similar strategies to promote use of the advertised drug but vary widely in whether and how they describe non-pharmaceutical treatments that complement or serve as alternatives to medications. Regulators should consider the potential spillover effects of non-pharmaceutical messages in pharmaceutical DTCA when considering future regulatory endeavors.

Disparities in exposure to television advertising of sugar-sweetened and non-nutritive sweetened beverages among U.S. adults and teens, 2007-2013.

The objective of this study was to estimate disparities in exposure to television advertising of sugar-sweetened and non-nutritive sweetened beverages among U.S. adults and teens. Data (2007-2013) came from the National Consumer Survey and included 115,510 adult respondents (age 18+) and 8635 teen respondents (age 12-17). The data was originally accessed in 2018 and analyzed in 2019-2020. The main outcomes were individual-level estimated exposure to advertisements for regular soda, diet soda, and energy/sport drinks. The main exposures were by race/ethnicity, household income, and educational attainment. Non-white adults (teens) were exposed to an estimated (per year) 101.5 (190.1) regular soda ads, 49.5 (61.2) diet soda ads, and 157.1 (279.6) energy/sport ads per year while white respondents were exposed to 97.5 (127.7) regular soda ads, 45.8 (44.2) diet soda ads, and 123.9 (192.0) energy/sport ads per year. Adult (teen) respondents who were non-white with low incomes and with low educational attainment were exposed to 4.7% (53.7%) more regular soda ads, 6.6% (43.8%) more diet ads, and 23.2% (56.2%) more energy/sport ads than respondents who were white with high incomes and high educational attainment. Demographic and socio-economic groups with a higher prevalence of obesity were exposed to significantly more advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages. When evaluating potential policies to regulate marketing of sugar-sweetened and non-nutritive sweetened beverages, policymakers should consider the disparate exposure of at-risk populations to advertising of sugar-sweetened and non-nutritive sweetened beverages.

Exposure to televised political campaign advertisements aired in the United States 2015-2016 election cycle and psychological distress.

CONTEXT: Prior research suggests the potential for political campaign advertisements to increase psychological distress among viewers. The current study tests relationships between estimated exposure to campaign advertising and the odds of respondents reporting that a doctor told them they have anxiety, depression, insomnia, or (as a negative control) cancer. METHODS: A secondary analysis of U.S. data on televised campaign ad airings from January 2015 to November 2016 (n = 4,659,038 airings) and five waves of a mail survey on television viewing patterns and self-reported medical conditions from November 2015 to March 2017 (n = 28,199 respondents from n = 16,204 unique households in the U.S.). FINDINGS: A 1 percent increase in the estimated volume of campaign advertising exposure was associated with a 0.06 [95% CI 0.03-0.09] percentage point increase in the odds of a respondent being told by a doctor that they have anxiety in the past 12 months. We observed this association regardless of the political party of the ad sponsor, the political party of the respondent, or their statistical interaction. We also observed this association for both Presidential campaign ads and non-Presidential (including local, state, and U.S. congressional election) campaign ads, providing evidence that these relationships were not driven by the unique divisiveness of the race between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. Some topic-specific models offered additional evidence of association between estimated volume of campaign advertising exposure and the odds of being told by a doctor that they have depression or insomnia, but these patterns were less consistent across models that utilized different categories of campaign exposure. Campaign ad exposure was not associated with cancer, which served as a negative control comparison. CONCLUSIONS: There was a consistent positive association between the volume of campaign advertising exposure and a reported diagnosis of anxiety among American adults.

Estimated televised alcohol advertising exposure in the past year and associations with past 30-day drinking behavior among American adults: results from a secondary analysis of large-scale advertising and survey data.

AIMS: To estimate the volume of past-year televised alcohol advertising exposure by product category and demographic group among adults living in the United States and test associations between estimated alcohol advertising exposure and past 30-day drinking behavior. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from two national-level US data sets: Kantar data on appearances of televised alcohol advertisements and data from the Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS), a large national mail survey on television viewing patterns and consumer behavior. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 54 671 adults, aged 21 years and older, who were randomly selected to participate in the Simmons NCS. MEASUREMENTS: Estimated exposure to televised advertisements for beer, wine and spirits, self-reported alcohol use in the past year and number of drinks consumed in the past 30 days. FINDINGS: The average respondent was exposed to an estimated 576 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 570-582] televised alcohol advertisements in the year preceding their survey. Exposure was higher among males versus females and African Americans versus whites. A 1% increase in the estimated volume of advertisement exposure was associated with a 0.11 (95% CI = 0.08-0.13) percentage point increase in the odds of having at least one drink in the last 30 days and, among past 30-day drinkers, a 0.05 (95% CI = 0.04-0.07) per cent increase in the number of alcoholic drinks consumed. Associations were consistent across product categories and demographics. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a small but consistent positive association between alcohol advertising exposure and drinking behavior among American adults.

Should Graphic Warning Labels Proposed for Cigarette Packages Sold in the United States Mention the Food and Drug Administration?

INTRODUCTION: Under the US Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to implement graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette packages. Neither the original labels proposed by the FDA nor the revised labels include a source to indicate sponsorship of the warnings. This study tests the potential impact of adding a sponsor to the content of GWLs. METHODS: We recruited adult smokers (N = 245) and middle-school youth (N = 242) from low-income areas in the Northeastern US. We randomly assigned participants to view one of three versions of the original FDA-proposed warning labels in a between-subjects experiment: no sponsor, "US Food and Drug Administration," or "American Cancer Society" sponsor. We tested the effect of varying sponsorship on source attribution and source credibility. RESULTS: Compared to unsponsored labels, FDA sponsorship increased source attributions that the FDA sponsored the labels among both middle-school, largely nonsmoking youth and adult smokers. However, sponsorship had no effect on source credibility among either population. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that adding FDA as the source is likely to boost source credibility judgments, at least in the short term; though doing so would not appear to have adverse effects on credibility judgments. As such, our data are largely consistent with the Tobacco Control Act's provisions that allow, but do not require, FDA sponsorship on the labels. IMPLICATIONS: This study addresses the FDA's regulatory efforts by informing the possible design and content of future cigarette warning labels. Our results do not offer compelling evidence that adding the FDA name on GWLs will directly increase source credibility. Future work may test more explicit FDA source labeling and continue to examine the credibility of tobacco message content among high-priority populations.

Testing the Effects of Certain versus Hypothetical Language in Health Risk Messages.

This paper tests how the certainty or hypotheticality conveyed through language can be harnessed to enhance the effectiveness of targeted messaging about health risks. We conducted two experiments with adult smokers (n = 317) and middle school youth (n = 321) from low-income communities in the context of pictorial cigarette warning labels. We manipulated hypotheticality of risk through verb modality: 1. non-modal (present tense, e.g., smoking causes cancer), and modal/hypothetical (2. may, 3. can, and 4. will). For adult smokers, definitive (present tense) wording led to greater health risk beliefs, compared to hypothetical wording, among adult males but not females. For youth, contrary to what might seem intuitive, the more hypothetical may verb modality was more effective than the present tense language in promoting health risk beliefs. Among youth, greater health risk beliefs were also associated with reduced susceptibility to use cigarettes. No differences in negative affect by hypotheticality of language were found for either population. We discuss these findings in relation to the theoretical implications for the concept of hypotheticality and the application of construal level theory to strategic health communication.

Independent or synergistic? Effects of varying size and using pictorial images in tobacco health warning labels.

INTRODUCTION: Legal challenges have blocked the implementation of large, pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) in the U.S. In light of future legal questions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may face in proposing alternative HWLs, we examined whether less restrictive HWL versions on the front of packs-smaller HWLs and/or text-only HWLs that do not include pictorial imagery-may be sufficient to promote cognitive and affective outcomes associated with smoking cessation. METHODS: We recruited low-income smokers in two separate experiments through field-based recruitment methods (Study 1, N = 497) or Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) (Study 2, N = 495). In both studies, we randomly assigned participants to a no-HWL control condition or one of four HWL conditions in a 2 (pictorial vs. text-only) × 2 (50% vs. 30% size) between-subjects design. RESULTS: Relative to text-only HWLs, pictorial HWLs increased negative affect but not risk belief acceptance, cognitive elaboration about smoking harms, or quit intentions. The 50% HWLs increased quit intentions relative to the control condition in both studies. The 50% HWLs also outperformed the 30% HWLs in promoting quit intentions in Study 2. Subsequent analyses revealed that this effect in Study 2 may have been driven by the 50% HWLs strengthening the relationship between risk-related thoughts and intentions, although there was no evidence for this pattern in Study 1. We found no evidence for interaction effects between the pictorial and size manipulations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that 50% HWLs, whether pictorial or text-only, can encourage low-income smokers to consider quitting under some conditions.

Effects of Varying Color, Imagery, and Text of Cigarette Package Warning Labels among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Middle School Youth and Adult Smokers.

The U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) of 2009 paved the way for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to propose nine different graphic warning labels (GWLs) intended for prominent placement on the front and back of cigarette packs and on cigarette advertisements. Those GWLs were adjudicated as unconstitutional on the ground that they unnecessarily infringed tobacco companies' free speech without sufficiently advancing the government's public health interests. This study examines whether less extensive alternatives to the original full-color GWLs, including black-and-white GWLs and text-only options, have similar or divergent effects on visual attention, negative affect, and health risk beliefs. We used a mobile media research lab to conduct a randomized experiment with two populations residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities: biochemically confirmed adult smokers (N = 313) and middle school youth (N = 340). Results indicate that full-color GWLs capture attention for longer than black-and-white GWLs among both youth and adult smokers. Among adults, packages with GWLs (in either color or black-and-white) engendered more negative affect than those with text-only labels, while text-only produced greater negative affect than the packages with brand imagery only. Among youth, GWLs and text-only labels produced comparable levels of negative affect, albeit more so than brand imagery. We thus offer mixed findings related to the claim that a less extensive alternative could satisfy the government's compelling public health interest to reduce cigarette smoking rates.

Testing competing explanations for graphic warning label effects among adult smokers and non-smoking youth.

RATIONALE: The United States courts have blocked the implementation of graphic warning labels on cigarette packages (GWLs). This decision was based, in part, on the premise that GWLs are unnecessarily emotional and are meant to scare rather than inform consumers about smoking's health effects. However, research in judgment and decision-making suggests these relationships are more complex. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we draw on several theoretical frameworks that lead to competing hypotheses about the relationships between negative affect, health risk beliefs, and quit intentions (among adult smokers) or susceptibility to start smoking (among non-smoking youth). METHOD: We tested these competing mediation models using data from two experiments with two populations each-adult smokers (Ns = 313 and 238) and primarily non-smoking middle-school youth (Ns = 340 and 237). Using mobile recruitment methods, we focused specifically on individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in rural and urban areas of the Northeastern United States. RESULTS: The best fitting model across all four datasets was one in which label-induced negative affect (a) directly predicted intentions/susceptibility but also (b) indirectly predicted intentions/susceptibility via risk beliefs. Although mediation analyses did not demonstrate significant serial mediation effects of label exposure on intentions/susceptibility through negative affect then risk beliefs, there was some evidence that label exposure indirectly promoted adults' quit intentions through negative affect. Additionally, negative affect consistently mediated the indirect effect of label exposure on strengthened risk beliefs among adults and youth. CONCLUSIONS: These results speak to the importance of negative affect in directly motivating adult smokers' quit intentions but also serving an informational function, directing adult smokers and non-smoking youth to accept the health risks of smoking.

Theoretical Foundations of Appeals Used in Alcohol-Abuse and Drunk-Driving Public Service Announcements in the United States, 1995-2010.

PURPOSE: The study identifies the extent to which theoretical constructs drawn from well-established message effect communication theories are reflected in the content of alcohol-related public service announcements (PSAs) airing in the United States over a 16-year period. DESIGN: Content analysis of 18 530 141 alcohol-abuse (AA) and drunk-driving (DD) PSAs appearing on national network and local cable television stations in the 210 largest designated marketing areas (DMAs) from January 1995 through December 2010. MEASURES: The authors developed a detailed content analytic codebook and trained undergraduate coders to reliably identify the extent to which theoretical constructs and other creative ad elements are reflected in the PSAs. We show these patterns using basic descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Although both classes of alcohol-related PSAs used strategies that are consistent with major message effect theories, their specific theoretical orientations differed dramatically. The AA PSAs were generally consistent with constructs emphasized by the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), whereas DD PSAs were more likely to use normative strategies emphasized by the Focus Theory of Narrative Conduct (FTNC) or source credibility appeals central to the Elaboration Likelihood Model. CONCLUSION: Having identified message content, future research should use deductive approaches to determine if volume and message content of alcohol-control PSAs have an impact on measures of alcohol consumption and/or measures of drunk driving, such as fatalities or driving while intoxicated/driving under the influence arrests.

Effects of 30% and 50% Cigarette Pack Graphic Warning Labels on Visual Attention, Negative Affect, Quit Intentions, and Smoking Susceptibility among Disadvantaged Populations in the United States.

Introduction: Though the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls for the implementation of large graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette boxes, the courts have blocked the implementation of 50% labels in the United States. We conducted an experiment to explore whether changing the size of GWLs is associated with changes in visual attention, negative affect, risk beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Method: We recruited adult smokers (N = 238) and middle-school youth (N = 237) throughout the state of New York in May 2016. We randomly assigned participants to one of three between-subject conditions (no GWL [control], 30% GWL, 50% GWL). Results: Adult and youth participants looked at the GWLs longer when the GWL covered 50% versus 30% of the pack's front. Increasing GWL size from 30% to 50% did not influence negative affect or risk beliefs, though both GWL sizes increased negative affect relative to the no-GWL control group. Exposure to 50% GWLs increased adult smokers' intentions to quit compared to no-GWL, but smokers exposed to 30% GWLs did not differ from control. There were no differences between 50% GWLs, 30% GWLs, and control on youth smoking susceptibility. Conclusions: Findings provide some evidence of the benefits of a 50% versus 30% GWL covering the front of the pack for adult smokers and at-risk youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds-though not on all outcomes. Implications: This research shows that 30% GWLs on cigarette packages increase negative affect relative to packages without front-of-package GWLs. Larger GWLs on cigarette packages (50% vs. 30%) increase visual attention to the warning and its pictorial content among low-SES smokers and at-risk youth but do not further increase negative affect. A 50% GWL increased adults' quit intention compared to no GWL at all, but we were underpowered to detect modest differences in quit intentions between a 50% and 30% GWL. Future work should thus continue to explore the boundary conditions under which relatively larger GWLs influence cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes.

Vitamin panacea: Is advertising fueling demand for products with uncertain scientific benefit?

This study examines the effect of advertising on demand for vitamins-products with spiraling sales despite little evidence of efficacy. We merge seven years (2003-2009) of advertising data from Kantar Media with the Simmons National Consumer Survey to estimate individual-level vitamin print and television ad exposure effects. Identification relies on exploiting exogenous variation in year-to-year advertising exposure by controlling for each individual's unique media consumption. We find that increasing advertising exposure from zero to the mean number of ads increases the probability of consumption by 1.2 and 0.8% points (or 2 and 1.4%) in print and television respectively. Stratifications by the presence of health conditions suggests that in print demand is being driven by both healthy and sick individuals.

Market-level exposure to state antismoking media campaigns and public support for tobacco control policy in the United States, 2001-2002.

OBJECTIVE: This study tests whether exposure to state antismoking media campaigns is associated with increased support for comprehensive bans on smoking indoors and cigarette advertising. METHODS: We combine commercially available data on market-level state-sponsored antismoking advertisements with three waves of the Current Population Survey's Tobacco Use Supplement to test the relationship between market-level volume of state antismoking advertising exposure and support for tobacco control policy between 2001 and 2002. We use logistic regression to assess which message themes employed in the advertisements are associated with increased support for tobacco control policy. RESULTS: The overall market-level volume of exposure to state antismoking ads targeted to adults or the general population was associated with significant increases in support for comprehensive indoor smoking bans. These effects were driven by exposure to ads emphasising the health consequences of smoking to others, anti-industry appeals and irrationality/addiction appeals. Evidence of campaign impact on support for tobacco advertising bans was less clear and, when statistically significant, small in magnitude relative to the impact of the state economic and tobacco control policy environment. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that that large-scale antismoking media campaigns can have a meaningful secondary impact on support for comprehensive indoor smoking bans. Future research should identify the conditions under which mass media campaigns primarily targeting smoking behaviour may influence public support for a variety of other tobacco control policies.

An examination of structure-function claims in dietary supplement advertising in the U.S.: 2003-2009.

Dietary supplement advertising cannot claim a causal link between the product and the treatment, prevention, or cure of a disease unless manufacturers seek approval from the FDA for a health claim. Manufacturers can make structure-function (S-F) claims without FDA approval linking a supplement to a body function or system using words such as "may help" or "promotes." These S-F claims are examined in this study in order to determine whether they mimic health claims for which the FDA requires stricter scientific evidence. Data include S-F claims in supplement advertisements (N=6179) appearing in US nationally circulated magazines (N=137) from 2003 to 2009. All advertisements were comprehensively coded for S-F claims, seals of approval, and other claims of guarantee. S-F claims associate supplements with a wide variety of health conditions, many of which are serious diseases and/or ailments. A significant number of the specific verbs used in these S-F claims are indicative of disease treatment/cure effects, thereby possibly mimicking health claims to the average consumer. The strength of the clinical associations made are largely unsubstantiated in the medical literature. Claims that a product is "scientifically proven" or "guaranteed" were largely unsubstantiated by clinical literature. Ads carrying externally validating seals of approval were highly prevalent. S-F claims that strongly mimic FDA-prohibited health claims are likely to create confusion in interpretation and possible public health concerns are discussed.

Mixed Messages, Mixed Outcomes: Exposure to Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for Statin Drugs is Associated with More Frequent Visits to Fast Food Restaurants and Exercise.

This study examines whether exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCAs) for statin drugs is associated with non-pharmaceutical behaviors to prevent cardiovascular disease. We focus on the relationship between statin drug DTCA exposure and the frequency of (a) visits to fast-food restaurants and (b) exercise. We combine data on the televised broadcast availability of statin drug DTCAs in large media markets in the United States with 18 waves of the Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS; n = 120, 229) from 2001 to 2009. We find that statin drug DTCA exposure is associated, in a dose-response pattern, with modest increases in the frequency of exercise and large increases in the frequency of fast-food-restaurant visits. The relationship between statin DTCA exposure and fast-food-restaurant visits were largely consistent in direction but differed in magnitude between those without a previous diagnosis of high cholesterol and those treating high cholesterol with a statin. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these results for future research on pharmaceutical DTCA and population health.

Effects of exposure to direct-to-consumer television advertising for statin drugs on food and exercise guilt.

OBJECTIVE: Pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is widely prevalent on US television. This study tests the relationship between estimated exposure to DTCA for statin drugs, which often feature mixed messages about the efficacy of diet and exercise in reducing risk of cholesterol and heart disease, and guilty feelings regarding food and exercise. METHODS: A series of repeated cross-sectional surveys of the US population between 2001 and 2007 (N=106,859 adults aged 18 and older) were combined with data on the frequency of DTCA appearances on national, cable, and local television during the same time period. RESULTS: Adjusting for potential confounders with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, increased potential exposure to statin DTCA was associated with increased food guilt (in a dose-response pattern) and exercise guilt (in a threshold pattern). CONCLUSION: This study provides new evidence that DTCA has potential to influence emotional well-being as well as direct behavioral responses emphasized in previous academic research. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Health practitioners should be prepared to encounter and counsel patients who are prompted by DTCA to feel guilty about their food and exercise behaviors, feelings which may impact the likelihood of adherence to prescribed behavioral modification for weight management.