• Treatment Online, Thursday, May 15, 2008 9:30 AM

Paid product placements of brand name drugs, such as Prozac and Viagra on popular TV shows, is under scrutiny after years of flying under the regulatory radar. A new report issued by researchers at UCLA says the FDA may need to regulate the appearance of paid drug references on TV programs, just as it imposes certain rules on drug ads.

The FTC does not recognize product placements as advertisements, but the FDA should, requiring that any sponsors, official or not, be listed at the end of each program, says the UCLA report.

Another option presented is more drastic: Both the FDA and the FTC should agree that "pharmaceutical placements are a new form of marketing and develop an entirely new set of regulations in accordance."

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