Imagine you’re a pharmaceutical manufacturer trying to promote a new product on Twitter. Now pretend your marketing agency has 140 characters not only to define the drug, but also relate any potential risks related to it.

This is one hypothetical scenario that drug makers, Internet companies and nonprofit organizations are seeking clarity on from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The agency, which already has strict rules in place concerning magazine, newspaper and television advertisements, is mulling over a question of whether the promotion of drugs and medical devices on social media sites should be regulated, Reuters reported.

“The lack of clarity today is creating confusion among the advertising community,” said David Zinman, a Yahoo Inc. vice president.

At a conference Thursday, the FDA organized about 30 different presentations on topics ranging from drug makers’ role in monitoring Internet content, to ways in which consumers obtain their health news.

One question considered at the event was how much responsibility should drug makers shoulder regarding online content about their products.

“We don’t think companies should be responsible for policing the entire Internet for information about their products,” Elizabeth Forminard, a Johnson & Johnson executive.

Referring to what she believes to be a general lack of consistency in the quality of data on third-party Web sites, such as Wikipedia, Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, had this to say:

“Because the risk of providing inaccurate information on medical products is so high, the FDA needs to establish ongoing relationships with … Web sites consumers are relying on.”

The FDA will accept public comments on the matter through February 2010, before analyzing them and deciding what action, if any, it needs to take.

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