‘What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?’ Viagra Ad Encourages Use as ‘Party Drug’.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, (AHF) the nation’s largest AIDS group and a direct provider of HIV/AIDS medical care to thousands of AIDS patients in the US, Africa, Central America and Asia, criticized Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, for contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, by promoting unsafe sex in recent print advertisements for their erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra.

The full-page, color ad — seen in “The Wall Street Journal” over the past several days leading up to New Year’s Eve, December 31st — depicts a handsome, over-forty male grinning knowingly at the camera with the tagline: “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” The advertisement also includes the following reminder: “Fact: Viagra can help guys with all degrees of erectile dysfunction — from mild to severe,” an implication that having a medical condition is not necessarily a prerequisite to being prescribed the drug.

“It is an outrage that, by referencing the biggest party night of the year, Pfizer would employ an advertising strategy that encourages the use of Viagra as a ‘party drug,'” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Not only does sending this reckless message contribute to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, but it is also part of a pattern of irresponsible Direct to Consumer advertising by the drug industry. Ads for HIV/AIDS drugs often portray living with HIV to be as simple as popping a pill and then it’s a day at the beach and there is another side to the story that is simply not being told by the drug industry. We urge Pfizer to not only pull these reckless ads that encourage the recreational use of Viagra and but to make a pledge to curb all irresponsible Direct to Consumer advertising — a practice that is contributing to the spread of disease and placing profit above people’s health.”

Earlier this year, AHF stepped up its campaign to rein in out of control drug advertising by sending letters to several pharmaceutical companies, challenging them to pledge their commitment to limit Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA), particularly of their HIV/AIDS treatments. In addition to executives at Pfizer, Inc., recipients included officials at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), GlaxoSmithKline Pcs (GSK), and Merck. The letters, sent by AHF President Michael Weinstein, asked them to sign on to The AIDS Education Pledge and commit to limiting the marketing of HIV/AIDS drugs to educational ads that do not direct consumers to a specific treatment. Having received no response from any of the companies that were contacted, AHF the following letter urging the drug companies to address pressing concerns about the negative impacts that Direct to Consumer Advertising is having on skyrocketing healthcare costs, patient care and public safety.

The full text of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s follow-up letter to drug companies sent earlier this year follows:

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation’s largest specialized HIV primary care provider, serving over 17,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. With the mission to provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay, we find that medicine and advocacy often converge on the issues of drug pricing and marketing.

In a letter dated March 25, 2005, we voiced our concerns with Direct to Consumer advertising and its effects on rising health care and drug costs, specifically with AIDS-related products. It was disappointing to receive neither support for our proposal of the AIDS Education Pledge, nor even a response from your company regarding our concerns. In light of continued pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to rein in rising costs and to promote its products more responsibly, we submit our concerns and recommendation once again, as your industry works to develop a “code of conduct” for prescription drug advertising.

The sophistication of the virus that causes AIDS, which invades each person’s immune system differently, necessitates highly individualized drug regimen. Appropriate treatment requires a thorough understanding of the array of medications available and must be left in the hands of specially trained providers in concert with their patients. Therefore, AHF recommends that all marketing of products and treatment for HIV and AIDS be limited to help-seeking advertisements, which serve to educate consumers about the disease, inform them that treatment is available without pushing a specific therapy, and then direct them to engage a health care professional. AHF believes that in a climate of shrinking resources and 40,000 new infections each year, the AIDS community must focus on educating people in order to get them into treatment and break the chain of infection.

There is a sense of mistrust from an increasingly anxious public that must be seriously considered and addressed by the drug industry. In the battle against the AIDS epidemic, there is no place for superfluous marketing of life-saving treatment. AHF asks you to reinforce your commitment to Americans living with HIV and AIDS by providing accurate
and appropriate information to enhance access to high quality AIDS treatment and care.

Sincerely,

Michael Weinstein
AHF President

“When it comes to serving our own clients, AIDS Healthcare Foundation believes that HIV/AIDS treatment decisions should be made by specially trained physicians in conference with their patients without being influenced by high-priced drug advertising campaigns,” added AHF’s Weinstein. “The safety of the public’s health is what’s at stake in the regulation of all drug advertising. It’s simply too important an issue to be left up to the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry.”