• The New York Times, Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:30 AM

A television commercial for a heart stent made by Cordis, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, ignores potential dangers to patients, according to an article published yesterday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Stents are metal mesh devices that are used to prop open arteries after they have been cleared of blockages.

The ad uses the tag line "life wide open." The article suggests that the Food and Drug Administration review the campaign to determine if it "meets the basic regulatory requirements for non-deceptive advertising." Cordis says its content was reviewed by the FDA before it began running it last fall, and that the goal of the campaign is to "foster an informed, balanced conversation between patients and physicians about treatment options."

The authors of the article maintain that it's impossible to inform viewers adequately about the benefits and side effects of a stent operation in a 60-second spot. The journal article comes as pressure mounts on the FDA to increase oversight of consumer medical ads.

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