AEGiS-WSJ: Bristol-Myers to Be Asked To Pull Drug Ads Wall Street JournalImportant note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Bristol-Myers to Be Asked To Pull Drug Ads

Wall Street Journal - February 17, 2005

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest nonprofit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the U.S., said it will ask Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to stop running advertisements for AIDS drug Reyataz, which it says minimize the seriousness of the disease.

The ads, which read, "The Word on HIV : Fight HIV Your Way," show two men on the beach, one of whom is smiling while they play backgammon. The ads contain information about side effects of the medicine. They were crafted by New York-based Euro RSCG Life Adrenaline, a unit of Havas SA.

AHF President Michael Weinstein said the ads could lead to a lack of concern about contracting HIV , and therefore encourage risky behavior. "It says that I don't have to be that careful about getting HIV because I can go to the beach and pop pills," Mr. Weinstein said.

A spokeswoman for Bristol-Myers said the company "has been making HIV medicines for over a decade. We take how people are portrayed in our advertising very seriously and strive to depict HIV-positive people in a responsible way." She said, "To our knowledge we have not been contacted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation about this advertisement but we take their opinion and feedback very seriously and will look forward to dialogue with them."
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