WASHINTON -- U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., wants to keep commercials for erectile dysfunction and performance enhancement drugs off TV during prime hours, WTOP reported, as they may cause corruption of young minds.
The Families for ED Advertising Decency Act, introduced a week ago, would label such commercials indecent, and under Federal Communication Commission rules, they could only be aired between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Moran introduced similar legislation in 2005, and he told WTOP that pharmaceutical companies offered to tone down the ads and only air the raciest ones at night, but they're all over sports broadcasts during the day on weekends and haven't been toned down.
"I don't think it's very subtle to suggest that you call your doctor if you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours, or ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex," Moran told WTOP. "I don't think it's appropriate for children to listen to that kind of stuff."
Medicare's coverage of the medications makes federal regulation of the commercials appropriate, Moran said, but he's open to an actual compromise this time around.
The bill is before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
