March 26, 2004
Volume 6 / Number 12
Dear Colleague:
On February 20, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would delay for 90 days its decision to approve over-the-counter (OTC) status of the morning-after pill (MAP). The FDA said it needed more time to evaluate the use of Plan B among teenagers. The final decision is expected to come on May 20.
As the countdown continues, beware of false advertising! “Cutting edge” ads designed to promote the morning-after pill deprive women of accurate information.
Read PRI’s full report on the morning-after pill. Some of the material below is not suitable for children.
Steven W. Mosher
President
ACTION ITEM: To urge the FDA to not approve OTC/MAP status, go to the FDA website. Select “2001P-0075 – Switch Status of Emergency Contraceptives from Rx to OTC” and follow the prompts to submit your statement.
Written comments should be submitted to:
Dockets Management Branch
HFA-305, Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852.
Dangerous MAP Ads Threaten Public Health
Advertising campaigns associated with OTC/MAP raise serious concerns over promoting rape and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among adolescents, increased rates of abortion and pregnancy among teens, and an overall coarsening of American societal values.
MAP has been portrayed typically in news stories as a solution to sexual assault and “contraceptive accidents” without accurate information about negative public health implications. But in its ad campaign, FDA applicant, Women’s Capital Corporation, targets teenage consumers with provocative advertising themes promoting dangerous and risky sexual
behavior.(1) These ads encourage unprotected sex, promiscuity, and multiple partners:
· Newspaper ad: “So Many Men. So Many Reasons to Have Back-up
Contraception.”(2)
· Newspaper ad: “Delta Delta Thi. 27 Upstanding Young Men. 34 Billion Sneaky Little Sperm.”(3)
· Billboard poster: “A Renaissance Man, A Deep Thinker, An Ancient Soul, A Walking Sperm Factory.”(4)
Other MAP ads employ crude language deemed inappropriate for broadcast via mass media:
· Billboard: Sperm Happens.(5)
· Bus-shelter and Newspaper ads: Oh $#*!(6)
MAP ad campaigns are global. USAID-funded Population Services International (PSI), founded by American pornographers, has been at the forefront of provocative advertising campaigns. One MAP poster conveys a subliminal message of a casual sexual encounter. The ad illustrates the contents of a girl’s purse: Makeup, $5 cab-fare, condoms, and a packet of morning-after pills:
“Are you ready for anything? In case you need a touch up. In case you need a cab home. In case things heat up. In case the condom breaks or you forget your birth control.”(7)
PSI has produced a 10-minute video on MAP, which features sexually active young persons explaining how MAPs help them “have fun” without getting
pregnant:
“I don?t think that a lot of people my age want to get pregnant. They realize that there’s a lot of time to have children. This is the time to be young and have fun.”(8)
A particularly disturbing Population Council ad promotes OTC/MAP as a response and solution to sexual assault:
“Were you forced? Help is available if you act now. See your chemist or clinic about emergency contraception.”(9)
A California Family Health Council’s bus poster features a scene of bathroom/shower with a woman’s brassiere hanging from the showerhead and high heels abandoned on the floor. A subliminal message of a casual sexual encounter is conveyed visually. The poster is captioned,
“When things don’t go as planned…”(10)
This bus poster is part of California Family Health Council’s “provocative, attention grabbing campaign using cutting edge artwork.”(11)
Provocative advertising for MAP targets teens. “Let’s Get It On: Making Teen Pregnancy Prevention Hot,” is the title of an American Public Health Association presentation described as “social marketing.”(12) This campaign follows the “cutting-edge” trend of “looking for new and innovative projects that engage youth” and overcoming opposition in conservative, rural communities. The project aimed at creating “informative and on-the-edge media that teens would respect.”
None of this advertising mentions the risks of MAP or engaging in promiscuous sex, and none promote legal recourse for rape. Such ads are solely designed to generate MAP users and profits.
MAP promoters are competing to create the most provocative, cutting-edge, teen-oriented advertisements. But this “cutting edge” will wound the health and well-being of women and adolescent girls.
The FDA’s job is to protect the health and safety of our citizens. To do that, over-the-counter status for MAP must be denied.
Endnotes
1. ” EC Outreach Materials ,” Pharmacy Access Project, Public Health Institute. According to Pharmacy Access Project, the Women’s Capital Corporation advertisements ran in 30 college newspapers in early 2002.
2. ” So Many Men. So Many Reasons to Have Back-Up Contraception .” Plan B newspaper ad. Women’s Capital Corporation. DDB Bass & Howes.
3. ” Delta Delta Thi. 27 Upstanding Young Men. 34 Billion Sneaky Little Sperm .” Plan B newspaper ad. Women’s Capital Corporation. DDB Bass & Howes.
4. ” A Renaissance Man. A Deep Thinker. An Ancient Soul. A Walking Sperm Factory .” Plan B poster ad. Women’s Capital Corporation. DDB Bass & Howes.
5. ” Sperm Happens ,” Billboard Campaign, Population Services International.
6. “Oh $#*!” Emergency Contraception: Because $#*! Happens, Media Campaign, Pacific Institute for Women’s Health. Available at McCann-Erickson and cruz/kravetz:IDEAS. Bus shelter ads, magazine and newspaper ads and “GoCards” featured this advertising them in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
7. “Are You Ready for Anything?” Accidents Happen, Pregnancy Doesn’t Have To Marketing Campaign, Population Services International (PSI). The poster asks, “Are you prepared for anything, even when it comes to sex?”
8. ” Advocacy Tool Kit Video ,” Accidents Happen, Pregnancy Doesn’t Have To Marketing Campaign, Population Services International (PSI). This video encourages the sexual attitudes which risk HIV/STDs and pregnancy.
9. “Were You Forced?” Advertisement, Population Council, Reproductive Health and Family Planning, Contraception, Emergency Contraception.
10. ” When Things Don’t Go As Planned…” Bus Poster, California Family Health Council, Spring 2003, Los Angeles Public Bus Advertising Campaign.
11. Anna L. Garcia, et al., ” Caution: Provocative Artwork Ahead! Getting Attention for Emergency Contraception ,” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting 2003, November 17, 2003, Abstract #72030. A presentation stated that an evaluation of the campaign is planned: “A comparison will be made of the community response to the emergency contraception messages and graphic designs from the current provocative campaign to the earlier conservative campaign.” It is unclear how success will be measured in the evaluation. For example, an increased number of calls to an EC hot line could indicate increased sexual activity due to the provocative ad campaign itself. Will the evaluation consider changed rates of HIV/STD infection and abortion as well as possible adverse health events such as ectopic pregnancies?
12. Nan Frances Lewicky, MA, MPH, et al., ” Let’s Get It On: Making Teen Pregnancy Prevention Hot ,” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting 2003, November 17, 2003, Abstract #65242. The abstract describes the project as a “youth-empowered teen pregnancy program in a semi-rural agricultural community” with a “conservative political and socio-economic environment…Trendy condom vending machines [were] placed in local shops and youth hangouts.” Although it is not clear whether EC was included in this campaign, future social marketing undoubtedly will promote EC should it become standardized.
