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.

To read PRI's full report on the morning-after pill, please go to:
www.pop.org/main.cfm?EID=552.

Some of the material below is not suitable for children.

Steven Mosher
President


ACTION ITEM: To urge the FDA to not approve OTC/MAP status, go to:
http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments. 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.


PRI Weekly Briefing
26 March 2004
Vol. 6 / No. 12


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. Available at http://www.go2ec.org/ECOutreachMaterials.htm
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. Available at:
http://www.basshowes.com/ia_portfolio_item.asp?id=186
3. "Delta Delta Thi. 27 Upstanding Young Men. 34 Billion Sneaky Little
Sperm." Plan B newspaper ad. Women's Capital Corporation. DDB Bass &
Howes. Available at: http://www.basshowes.com/ia_portfolio_item.asp?id=186
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.
Available at: http://www.basshowes.com/ia_portfolio_item.asp?id=185
5. "Sperm Happens," Billboard Campaign, Population Services International.
Available at: www.psi.org/resources/pubs/usp.html
6. "Oh $#*!" Emergency Contraception: Because $#*! Happens, Media
Campaign, Pacific Institute for Women's Health. Available at
www.piwh.org/unitedstates.html 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). Available
at: www.go2ec.org/pdfs/PSI_Poster_English.pdf 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). Available at:
www.go2ec.org/AccidentsVideoLow.htm 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.
Available at:  http://www.popcouncil.org/rhfp/ec.html
10. "When Things Don't Go As Planned . . ." Bus Poster, California Family
Health Council, Spring 2003, Los Angeles Public Bus Advertising Campaign.
Available at: www.go2ec.org/pdfs/CFHC_Bus_Poster2003.pdf
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. Available at
http://apha.confex.com/apha/131am/techprogram 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. Available at
http://apha.confex.com/apha/131am/techprogram  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.

© 2004 Population Research Institute. Permission to reprint or use in any
form granted. Credit requested.
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