If you’ve turned on a television lately, chances are you heard a catchy jingle. One GLP-1 medication’s now-famous chorus, “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic,” illustrates how direct-to-consumer drug ads have become part of our cultural wallpaper. But while these jingles are catchy, they are now under the federal microscope.
In its latest 2027 budget request, the Food and Drug Administration asked Congress to authorize a crackdown on drug advertisements that it deems “misleading and confusing to consumers and patients.” This isn’t a new initiative — the FDA has already issued hundreds of warnings to drug manufacturers as part of an enforcement push.
But here is the problem: If policymakers are truly serious about regulating advertisements that influence patient behavior, they are ignoring the elephant in the room — the predatory and largely unchecked world of trial lawyer advertising.
Every day, consumers are bombarded with aggressive, far less regulated legal ads soliciting plaintiffs for lawsuits against the very medications they rely on. As a mother, I think about my family and the mixed signals we receive. When you see a frightening ad warning about a medication a family member takes, do you question who paid for the ad or what their motive is? For those without the media literacy to understand the source, these ads can instill instant fear without explanation.
There is a glaring double standard at play. While pharmaceutical ads must meet strict federal requirements to disclose every possible risk and side effect in the “fast-talk” segment at the end of the commercial, trial lawyer ads operate in a “Wild West” environment, amplifying fear-based messaging with no obligation to provide medically sound context or balanced information.
While many of us can recite the “Ozempic” tune and other drug jingles, we can also recite the ominous legal scripts: “If you or someone you know has experienced side effects … you may be entitled to compensation.” These ads aren’t health warnings — they are recruitment tools for mass litigation that often scare patients into second-guessing or even abandoning their prescribed treatments.
The consequences of this fearmongering are not theoretical. In 2024 alone, trial lawyers spent roughly $2.5 billion on legal advertisements, with a massive portion specifically targeting prescription drugs.
The data on the “nocebo” effect of these ads is chilling. An FDA study identified 66 reports of patients who significantly reduced or stopped their blood thinner medications without consulting a doctor after seeing a trial lawyer ad. Many suffered serious complications, and seven of those patients died. This is the definition of a preventable tragedy driven by a “profits-over-patients” business model.
As a mother and as the spokeswoman for Patients Come First, I see this as a fundamental safety issue. If these alarming claims are airing during primetime family viewing hours, we are essentially allowing trial lawyers to practice medicine without a license in our living rooms.
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Recent polling found 66% of respondents believe these ads make people unnecessarily fearful about their medications, even if they are considered safe by medical professionals. Fortunately, some states are leading the way: Florida, Texas, and Louisiana have already passed legislation to combat misleading legal advertisements. While a handful of states have acted, public support for this issue is growing — yet the federal government remains silent on the legal industry while tightening the screws on healthcare providers.
If the federal government believes regulating pharmaceutical ads will protect patients, it cannot ignore the unchecked growth of trial lawyer ads. Patients deserve clarity from trusted sources, not scare tactics. A medical decision should be a conversation between a patient and their doctor — not a reaction to a predatory commercial. Increased oversight of legal advertising is a critical step toward protecting families and ensuring that, for once, patients actually come first.
Kasia Mulligan is the national spokeswoman for Patients Come First.