Nathan Morris, vice president of legislative affairs for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. Photo by Ian Wagreich.

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is calling on other states to follow the lead of Tennessee, which this week became the first state in the nation to enact a law to stop deceptive trial lawyer ads targeting prescription drugs and medical devices.

The ads run mostly on television and the internet. Many use warning signs and graphic video of ambulances while flashing “Medical Alert” or “Recall Warning” on the screen. Some even use the logos of government agencies.

Harold Kim, chief operating office of the institute, said in a blog that the ads are part of an aggressive marketing plan by plaintiffs attorneys to lure consumers into filing or joining lawsuits against the companies that make the drugs or devices. Kim was traveling and unavailable for comment Friday.

In-house counsel Nathan Morris, the chamber's vice president for legislative affairs, told Corporate Counsel that the ads “scare people out of taking their medicines and the results can be tragic.”

Morris cited research by both the chamber and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that shows the ads lead to many consumers stopping their needed medications. People have been harmed by that, he said, and “in at least six cases, people who stopped their medications died.”

The Tennessee law, which takes effect in July, doesn't completely outlaw the ads, but it does seek to curb them by prohibiting any deception. It bans ads that display the logo of a government agency, use the word “recall” if a product hasn't been recalled, or fail to disclose they are paid advertisements for lawyers. An ad also must not present itself as a “medical alert,” “health alert,” “consumer alert,” “public service announcement,” or use other similar language, according to the law.

It also requires the ad to include the warning: “Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting with your doctor. Discontinuing a prescribed medication without your doctor's advice can result in injury or death.”

Unless the product was recalled, the advertiser also must disclose that the drug or medical device remains approved by the FDA. Any violation of the law will be considered a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.

Morris called the law “a win for consumers and for companies that produce much-needed medications and devices that save lives.”

He said the statute had the support of several groups, including physicians, patient advocates, and companies and their general counsel.

Morris said the Texas Senate has passed a similar bill and sent it to the Texas House, where a companion bill was introduced. “Other states should definitely follow Tennessee's lead,” he said.