Kim Kardashian recently posted a casual tweet, talking about her morning sickness and how much this certain drug has helped her. The problem that came up from this innocent tweet however, is FDA's rule that allows legal drug promotions, as long as the disclaimers are presented. FDA requires every advertisement to explain side effects and disclaimers, but can Kim do all that in her 140-character tweet? She did link it to a webpage where the safety info are detailed. But FDA says, linking back to websites isn't enough.
"OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, and I felt a lot better and most importantly, it's been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby,"
As you can read, the post omits all information regarding the risks of the drug, and the drug actually has a very long list of risks. Side effects include drowsiness, so it shouldn't be taken when about to drive, operate machines, and all other tasks that require full mental alertness. It should also be taken with great caution if the woman who takes it has asthma, eye pressure, narrow angle glaucoma, stenosing peptic ulcer, bladder-neck obstruction, and pyloroduodenal obstruction. Children may also be at risk of cardiorespiratory arrest.
Not mentioning all those details may mislead people when it comes to the safety of the drug. And considering how much popularity Kim Kardashian has, FDA has all the reason to go on a semi-panic state. They had no choice but to relsease new guidelines at to how companies and endorsers should go about in posting these kinds of ads.
Statements coming from the FDA party have been released to help educate endorsers and drug producers with regards to ethical advertising. "We understand that communicating on electronic Internet sites with character space limitations can be challenging. But, no matter the Internet source used, benefit claims in product promotions should be balanced with risk information. And companies should provide a way for consumers to gain direct access to a more complete discussion of risks associated with their products." - Thomas Abrams, director of FDA's Office of Prescription Drug Promotion
"We all have first amendment rights and can say whatever we want - but once you are paid by a company it's the manufacturer who has to make sure the information is accurate and not misleading," - former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler
