FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 17, 2005
Contact:  Adrienne Elrod
(202) 225-3772
 

Ross Co-Sponsors Families for ED Advertising Decency Act
Ross Original Co-Sponsor of Legislation That Would Further Protect Children from Viewing Indecent Advertisements 

 
 
(Washington, D.C.) Always working to improve the lives of America’s working families, Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (AR-04) Thursday signed on as an original co-sponsor to the Families for ED Advertising Decency Act, which will prohibit the airing of erectile dysfunction prescription advertisements on television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. 

Under the Families for ED Advertising Decency Act, the Federal Communications Commission is required to revise its indecency standards and treat advertisements related to erectile dysfunction (ED) prescription drugs to the same standard applied to tobacco and hard alcohol advertisements.  

“As the parent of two teenage children, I understand the importance of protecting our children from distasteful and indecent advertisements,” said Ross.  “I can recall countless evenings I’ve spent at home with my wife and children, enjoying a good television program when suddenly, we are rudely interrupted by a distasteful, and frankly embarrassing advertisement. Parents should have the peace of mind to know their children are protected from these ED ads, and to be relieved from the burden of having to monitor their television sets every few minutes.” 

Advertisements related to erectile dysfunction run frequently throughout the day, and last year, nearly $400 million was spent on advertising for the three most popular erectile dysfunction drugs: Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. In addition, the new Medicare Part D drug benefit will begin covering ED prescription drugs at its inception in 2006, meaning the cost of advertising these ED drugs will be passed directly to American taxpayers. 

“Many of the drug companies will tell you their ED ads run during programs geared toward targeted audiences, but many of those programs are the same programs parents like to watch with their kids, such as the Super Bowl and baseball games,” said Ross. 

The Families for ED Advertising Decency Act has received widespread support from many family-oriented organizations, including the Parents Television Council and the American Family Foundation. 


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