The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has launched an advertising campaign against using the HIV drug Truvada as a public health intervention for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent transmission of the virus, according to an AHF statement. The group claims that current PrEP data do not support such use.

“The eight major studies show the scientific data do not support the large-scale use of Truvada as a community-wide public health intervention to prevent transmission of HIV,” said AHF president Michael Weinstein in the statement. His concern is medication adherence, which he claims the data shows is poor.

PrEP adherence has been explored by several studies with varying results. However, the growing consensus is that on a personal level the data shows that PrEP is highly effective for individuals when taken as directed. The AHF statement cautions against PrEP as a public health policy, but does not directly address that consensus.

In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Truvada for PrEP. In 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), issued PrEP recommendations. AHF claims both the CDC and the WHO issued “misguided” recommendations.

The “PrEP Facts” campaign is appearing in various outlets in California and Florida throughout August and will likely expand to other markets. According to AHF, the ads not only caution against widespread scale up of PrEP, but also “educate the public as to the critical, but complicated role” of adherence.

To read the statement, click here.