Health Ministry may clamp down on TV ads for `magic' pills

Smriti (Tulsi) Irani talking about a miraculous cure for diabetes or Sangeeta Ghosh of Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand-fame extolling the virtues of a slimming product may just become a thing of the past.

The Health Ministry is planning to tighten the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 in order to stop misleading advertisements related to cure of diseases from being aired on television.

Highly placed sources in the Ministry said, "A number of products to cure diabetes, improve sexual potency or become slim are being aired on television. These are misleading and need to be stopped. Hence we want to amend the Act to include advertisements in the electronic media as well."

Currently, the law can take action against ads appearing in the print media and does not have a provision for television ads. `Advertisement', according to the legislation, `includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper, or other document, and any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light, sound or smoke.'

Sources also added that the advertising norms followed by the national broadcaster clearly prohibit such advertising. For instance, the code clearly states that no advertisement should contain a claim to cure any ailment or symptoms of ill health, nor should any advertisement contain a word or expression used in such a form or context as to mean in the positive sense the extirpation of any ailment, illness or disease.

"However, we have found private channels carrying these ads especially in the recent months. In fact, a few years back, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry had set up a committee to come up with measures to curb violations of the Act," said sources.

The Ministry may also consider setting up a separate Board to ensure that there are no violations of the Act. Besides this, it is also likely to add some more diseases like polio and HIV/AIDS to the existing list.

Legislation on dietary supplements: The Health Ministry is planning to come out with a new legislation to monitor dietary supplements and health foods. Sources in the Heath Ministry said that India does not have any legislative framework to monitor this category of products.

"Currently, many products are being imported into the country in the garb of health food supplements, nutraceuticals or dietary supplements. In some cases, we do not even know who is manufacturing and marketing these products. Through the legislation, we want to make it mandatory for companies to get prior approval from the Government before launching their products in India," said sources.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which clearly spells out norms for such products.