The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) now requires TV and radio drug ads to be clearer and more direct. The new guidelines, which have been over 15 years in the making, are designed to end industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information.

The agency’s new guidelines are created to eliminate pharmaceutical company practices that minimize or distract consumers from knowing risk information about drugs.

The new rules, which cover both TV and radio, instruct drugmakers to use simple, consumer-friendly language when describing their drugs, without medical jargon, distracting visuals or audio effects. A 2007 law directed the FDA to ensure that drug risk information appears “in a clear, conspicuous and neutral manner.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent more than 15 years crafting the guidelines, which are designed to do away with industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information. Many companies have already adopted the rules ...

Set to become compulsory Nov. 20, the regulation isn't likely to make pharma ads easier for consumers to comprehend, but should aid in drugmakers’ ability to meet the fair-balance standard.