Do Trial Lawyer Rx Drug Ads Scare Patients from Taking Medications? (SPONSORED)

Brought to you by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform...

One in four Americans taking certain prescribed medicines say they would stop taking them immediately—without consulting their doctor—after seeing ads promoting lawsuits against the drugs’ manufacturers, according to a new national survey released by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR).

"Advertising for drug lawsuits has gone up more than 60 percent since 2008, according to analysis by X Ante/Kantar Media," wrote ILR President Lisa A. Rickard in a recent op-ed in The Hill. "Last year, lawyers spent an estimated $149 million on negative drug ads with the most money spent to air 128,000 commercials recruiting plaintiffs for suits against the blood thinning drug Xarelto.

According to the research released by ILR, seven in ten Americans have seen a trial lawyer ad for a lawsuit over a prescription medicine. And 84 percent say they would be concerned if they saw a lawsuit ad about a medicine they were taking.

These numbers suggest the impact of drug lawsuit ads on the public health could be significant. 

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