Question : ADVERTISEMENTS OF HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS

(a) whether the Government has taken note of certain advertisements in print and electronic media claiming the efficacy of various health care products including drugs, nutritional food and also bracelets made of various metals with potential to cure many ailments;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has directed the manufacturers of such products to prove the scientific evidence supporting their claims;

(d) if so, the number of such claims verified along with the action taken against the manufacturers/companies for misleading/exaggerated claims during the last three years and the current year; and

(e) if not, the corrective measures taken/proposed by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)

(a) & (b) The misleading advertisements relating to drugs and magic remedies are taken care of by the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 and Rules made there under. State Governments are responsible for taking action as per provisions of the Act. As regards advertisement relating to food articles, the Food Safety Standards & Authority of India (FSSAI) monitors labels on various food items and claims advertised for food items by different companies in print and electronic media. The complaints received from stake holders are analysed and show-cause notices issued by the FSSAI to the manufacturers. Their replies are examined by a Committee constituted for this purpose by the Authority. As per recommendations of this Committee, actions including prosecution are initiated by Designated Officers at their regional levels.

(c) to (e) As per the information made available by the State Drugs Control Authorities, 630 cases were registered for investigations and 69 prosecutions were launched in the year 2010 -2011 and 2011 –2012 under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act. Similarly, 57 food items have been identified with misleading claims through print and electronic media. Manufacturers of these articles have been served with show-cause notices. Prosecution has been launched in 19 cases by Designated Officers at their regional levels.