• Cincinnati Enquirer/Bloomberg, Monday, February 1, 2010 10:43 AM

Pharmaceutical advertisers are toning down the sexual innuendo in erectile dysfunction ads and adding more safety warnings to products like Chantix quit-smoking treatment and Plavix blood thinner as the Food and Drug Administration increases its scrutiny of promotional campaigns for medicines, Sharon Pettypiece reports.

The FDA has increased the number of people monitoring ads by 50% to 60 staffers over the last five years, according to Thomas Abrams, director of the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications. "Our standards haven't changed, but we are trying to do a better job at reaching the industry," Abrams says.

As the ads get blander, sales may suffer, according to at least one analyst. "There has been a major change in the last few years," says Maura Musciacco, an analyst with Datamonitor Plc. "If we continue down this route, it may become counterproductive to advertise to consumers."

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