Hi my name is Bob and I want to talk to you about flea and tick products for your pets. How would you feel if you gave your dog or cat a flea and tick product you saw advertised on TV and your pet started having seizures? You would probably be very upset and think why wasn’t I warned that the product could cause seizures? Turns out you were just not from the TV advertisement. You see there are warnings about adverse reactions written in very small print on product information leaflets that are inside the product packaging which you can read after you have purchased the product. It seems a bit unfair that we aren’t warned until after we have already paid for the product. 

So why do manufacturers and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (the APVMA) think that warnings in very small print on product information leaflets provide adequate warning to pet owners about potential adverse reactions? How can manufacturers and the APVMA be sure that every pet owner can and does read the warnings on product information leaflets? For example, in how many languages are the warnings printed? How can manufacturers and the APVMA be sure that product information leaflets are always provided with these products? Manufacturers of flea and tick products containing isoxazolines know that they can cause seizures because it is written on their product information leaflets. So why don’t manufacturers warn pet owners about potential adverse reactions including seizures from their flea and tick products in their TV advertisements? Don’t manufacturers have a legal and moral obligation to warn pet owners? Why doesn’t the APVMA make them disclose this information in TV advertisements? I made a request to the APVMA for warnings to be put on the front of the packaging of these products like they do with cigarettes but my request was denied.

Anyway did you know that in the US flea and tick products containing the neurological toxin isoxazoline are only supplied with a prescription from a veterinarian? [i] One US TV advertisement that I have seen for a flea and tick product containing isoxazolines included warnings about potential adverse reactions including seizures.[ii] In the US the Food and Drug Administration issued a “Fact Sheet for Pet Owners and Veterinarians about Potential Adverse Events Associated with Isoxazoline Flea and Tick Products”. In this fact sheet the FDA states “Isoxazoline products have been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including muscle tremors, ataxia, and seizures in some dogs and cats; Although most dogs and cats haven’t had neurologic adverse reactions, seizures may occur in animals without a prior history.” [iii] Don’t Australian pet owners deserved to be warned about these flea and tick products like pet owners in the US? 

If pet owners choose to use these products on their pets because of the protection they could provide then warnings about potential adverse reactions they could cause to our pets should be disclosed when they are advertised on TV and online. Please sign and share the petition demanding Simparica Trio, Nexgard Spectra, Bravecto and others include warnings in TV and online advertisements about the potential adverse reactions their flea and tick products containing isoxazolines could cause to our pets.

Sources

[i] Source: Bravecto TV Spot, 'Protect Your Dog From Fleas & Ticks' “Only from your vet.” https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nAGE/bravecto-protect-your-dog-from-fleas-and-ticks

[ii] Source: Simparica Trio® - Winning Parasite Protection TV Commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZIrFLJEDOY 

[iii] Source: US Food and Drug Administration https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/fact-sheet-pet-owners-and-veterinarians-about-potential-adverse-events-associated-isoxazoline-flea