For now.

The Food and Drug Administration will hold meetings today and Wednesday that could produce the first significant changes to drug advertising after months of criticism from Congress and other groups.

Some say Vioxx advertisements featuring Olympian Dorothy Hamill, who has arthritis, fueled an excessive number of prescriptions before the painkiller's heart risks became known, potentially imperiling millions.

Among the FDA's questions: Do testimonials by celebrities mislead the public about prescription drug safety?

"It's hard to imagine a setting in which a celebrity endorsement of a drug conveys any meaningful information to patients in terms of either efficacy or side effects," said Dr. Alastair J.J. Wood, associate dean of Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Celebrity drug pitches previously generated enmity when stars appeared on television talk shows and told about how various treatments helped them, without mentioning they had been paid by drug companies to make the glowing endorsements.

"That was a practice that got the drug industry a lot of bad press. And rightly so," said Bob Ehrlich, former Parke-Davis vice president of consumer marketing.

Bristol-Myers Squibb hopes the FDA distinguishes between questionable past practices and current advertisements that harness celebrity star power to raise awareness of health conditions affecting millions.