(he Center Square) – Public Policy Solutions launched a six-figure ad campaign Monday about prescription drug ads.
The campaign wants President Donald Trump to oppose a ban on prescription drug ads.The group shared its plans exclusively with The Center Square. The ad targets democratic socialists like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and others who support a ban.Public Policy Solutions says that a ban would prevent patients from learning about treatments and give the government more power to control medical information.”Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, and the democrat socialists want the government to ban ads for medications and treatments, giving bureaucrats terrifying tools to censor important medical information,” the ad says.The ad claims a prescription drug advertising ban could lead to ad bans for other products.”Today it’s drug ads, tomorrow it’s fossil fuels, farming and food, and any business the left doesn’t like,” it says.The ad includes a clip of Trump saying, “We don’t negotiate with communists.” The group then asks viewers to tell Trump to stop what it calls “democrat socialist censorship of advertising.”John Czwartacki, the group’s co-founder, said drug ads benefit consumers.”Even under current restrictions, pharmaceutical ads provide a valuable service by raising awareness of available potential treatments,” Czwartacki told The Center Square. “Over the course of my medical condition, drug ads have led me to start conversations with my doctors about which treatments are best for me.”Last year, Sanders and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, introduced the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act. The proposal would ban prescription drug companies from doing direct consumer advertising on television, radio, in print, on digital platforms and on social media.Omar and U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., backed the House version in July 2025.Supporters say these ads increase prescription drug prices and mislead the public.”The widespread use of direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies drives up costs and doesn’t necessarily make patients healthier,” King said in a statement last year.The Democratic Socialists of America called for limits on drug ads in a 2017 statement backing Medicare for All. The group urged lawmakers to “outlaw misleading pharmaceutical advertising” and ban for-profit health facilities.Trump’s administration has also tried tightening rules for prescription drug ads.In September 2025, Trump directed federal health officials to require more information about drug risks and enforce rules against misleading ads. Sanders also cited Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s calls for a ban when he announced his legislation.Czwartacki said more limits could leave patients with less reliable information about their options.”Further censoring the most regulated, most accountable form of TV ads will leave patients vulnerable to bad actors and misinformation,” he said. “I get that these ads can be annoying, but giving bureaucrats more power isn’t the answer.””If they can restrict commercial free speech, it won’t stop at drug ads,” he added. “Any industry the left doesn’t like could be next.”