On November 2, 2005, a WLF attorney testified before an FDA panel in support of expanding the rights of pharmaceutical companies to engage in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Speaking before a panel created for the purpose of looking into possible changes in DTC advertising rules, WLF Chief Counsel Richard Samp asserted that FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC) needs to rein in its efforts to suppress advertising, and step in only when advertisements are likely to mislead consumers. When FDA announced that it would be holding hearings on November 1 and 2, its announcement suggested that FDA is considering moving in the other direction by imposing additional restrictions on advertising. Many hearing witnesses called for severely limiting drug ads, calling them inherently biased and misleading. WLF’s Samp countered that DTC advertising has played a vital public health role in recent years by increasing consumer awareness of treatment options.