Senate Bill S5919

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S5919

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to prohibiting
the advertisement of prescription drugs by the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This bill prohibits the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
from advertising the use all pharmaceutical drugs.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill amends the Public Authorities Law by adding a
new section 1266-k to require the authority to prohibit all
advertisements that promote the use of prescription drugs from
appearing on any of its facilities, equipment, railroad facilities,
marine and aviation facilities, omnibus facilities, real property,
transportation facilities or transit facilities. It also establishes
that the authority will honor its current prescription drug
advertisements, but will no longer seek or accept these types of
advertisements.

Section two of the bill sets forth the effective date.
              

 JUSTIFICATION :

In recent years, our nation has experienced a rapid rise in deaths
from opioid overdoses. Within five years, the number of deaths
resulting from unintentional drug overdose has increased by 66
percent. Prescription Drug Medicine is the third largest expense in
our health care system. Just last year, the average American received
twelve prescriptions a year; in 1992, the average American received
seven prescriptions a year. Within a decade and a half, the use of
prescription medication increased by 71 percent. This dangerous trend
of overreliance on prescription drugs puts patients at serious risk of
addiction, overdose and death.

However, pharmaceutical drug companies have continued to use a
marketing strategy known as Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) advertising to
promote synthetic opioid and pain management pharmaceutical drugs.
This type of advertising allows pharmaceutical companies to continue
encouraging consumers to seek prescriptions, even in the face of our
current opioid epidemic and prescription drug addiction crisis. The
U.S. and New Zealand are the only developed countries that allow
DTCPA. This legislation would ban the advertisement of pharmaceutical
drugs from appearing on MTA services, in order to reverse the trend of
dependence on prescription drugs and reduce the risk of addiction and
overdose.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.