OPINION:
As a mother, I know how easy it can be to feel overwhelmed by what you see on TV and online. Every day brings a new warning that something we use or rely on is a hidden danger.
So when late-night commercials target the very medicines sitting in our family’s medicine cabinet, my first reaction is anxiety. For many of these ads, instilling fear and confusion among everyday consumers is no accident; it is the entire business model.
We hear plenty of policy debates about how traditional health and pharmaceutical advertising is regulated. Drug ads face strict federal oversight through the Food and Drug Administration. They must present a balanced assessment of risks alongside benefits, be scientifically accurate and adhere to clear compliance standards.
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Yet an entirely different kind of medication-focused ad floods our airwaves, faces zero comparable federal review and operates in a regulatory Wild West: legal services advertising.
According to new figures from the American Tort Reform Association, legal services advertisers spent $4 billion on 30 million ads last year alone. Even more concerning: That represents a surge of more than 40% over 2024 spending.
We have all seen them. Television and online spots from trial law firms warn that a common prescription drug might cause a list of scary side effects. The firms urge viewers to call a hotline immediately to join a class-action lawsuit.
Not once during these commercials are lawyers required to mention a medication’s benefits, explain the statistical rarity of side effects or advise viewers to consult their doctors before making any abrupt healthcare choices.
According to a report from the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, these ads spend an average of 20 seconds on adverse risks and just two seconds on medical benefits. Fewer than 40% include any advice to consult a physician before stopping a medication.
Their sole purpose is to harvest clients and manufacture panic.
These lawsuits can drag on for years, clogging already crowded court dockets and slowing down the judicial system for everyone else. When a settlement finally lands, the legal teams walk away with massive payouts while individual plaintiffs are often left with pennies.
Meanwhile, the healthcare ecosystem bears the brunt of the fallout. Even when manufacturers have done nothing wrong, fighting a protracted legal battle can easily cost more than settling out of court. Many companies are forced to settle, draining resources from the vital research and development that brings breakthrough treatments to patients in need.
These ads are often disguised as public service announcements, but make no mistake: They are commercial solicitations designed to scare patients away from the medicines on which they depend. Findings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce identified an uptick in mass tort commercials that open with framing such as “medical alert” or “consumer alert.”
I know the exact feeling they are engineered to create: You are half-watching TV after your children are finally in bed when a grim warning flashes across the screen. Suddenly, you are staring at a prescription bottle, wondering whether it is safe. That moment of manufactured panic is the whole point.
This oversight gap is dangerous. When patients stop taking essential medications out of fear without consulting their medical providers, real harm follows. Studies show that a staggering percentage of patients who abruptly discontinue vital drugs experience severe adverse events, strokes or worse.
Some medications are just not optional. When trial lawyers effectively issue unvetted medical advice, lives are put at risk.
As a mother, I am worried. A parent who views one of these fear-driven ads might halt a child’s critical prescription overnight without consulting a pediatrician. For a family managing a chronic condition, that move can carry devastating consequences.
At the core of this issue is common sense. If an ad discusses prescription medication and seeks to influence healthcare decisions, it should meet basic standards of accuracy and accountability — no matter who paid for it. Policymakers and state regulators who oversee attorney advertising must step up and close this glaring loophole.
Protecting the sacred relationship between patients and their doctors should be a universal priority. Enforcing strict rules for one type of medical advertisement while letting another get a free pass to terrify the public simply will not cut it.
My family and every other American family deserve the same standard of truth and safety.
• Kasia Mulligan is the national spokesperson for Patients Come First.
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