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Pediatrics group calls for ED ad limits

E-mail | Print | Comments () Posted by Elizabeth Cooney September 27, 2010 10:35 AM

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If a national pediatricians group has its way, only late-night TV will be airing ads with men throwing footballs through tire swings or graying couples holding hands from matching bathtubs set on hillsides.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is calling for a ban on commercials advertising erectile dysfunction drugs before 10 p.m., among other measures to limit the saturation of sex in media absorbed by children. Boston pediatrician and media specialist Dr. Michael Rich told msnbc.com he is on board with the policy. He is a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of The Center on Media and Children’s Health at Children's Hospital Boston.

Rich recalled one parent who wondered what to do about all those ED ads shown during pro football games.

“She asked how to deal with a 9-year-old loudly singing the Viagra jingle on the playground as if it was the fight song for Yale,” Rich told msnbc.com. “It’s the same thing with all the beer ads during football games. This is telling the kids that the norm is beer with football.”

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White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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