The new rules, which cover both TV and radio, instruct drugmakers to use simple, consumer-friendly language when describing their drugs, without medical jargon, distracting visuals or audio effects. A 2007 law directed the FDA to ensure that drug risk information appears “in a clear, conspicuous and neutral manner.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires TV and radio drug ads to be clearer and more direct. The new guidelines, which have been over 15 years in the making, are designed to end industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from ...

The agency’s new guidelines are created to eliminate pharmaceutical company practices that minimize or distract consumers from knowing risk information about drugs.

A new bill in Congress would compel the FDA to more aggressively police such promotions on social media platforms. “Some people become very attached to social media influencers and ascribe to them credibility that, in some cases, they don’t deserve ...