Zhang Wuben, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) aficionado, became a guru overnight through his food therapy forums on a TV program. [File photo: rednet.cn]

China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) will take measures to toughen control over the publication of health care-related books, the Beijing Times reports.

In order to stop false information from misguiding ordinary readers, the authority will strengthen the planning and supervision involved in the publication of health care-related books, which will have to go through medical experts' reviews before their publication, said the report.

GAPP plans to set up a new quality inspection centre to examine the content and quality of health care-related books. Books failing to pass the examination will be recalled or pulled off the shelves, according to the report.

The authority will also cooperate with the medical department to beef up the review processes associated with health care-related books, and impose penalties on publishers of quack theories.

The new measures were put forward by the GAPP at a meeting with the heads of 11 Beijing professional publishers on June 4th.

Lately, the public has shown a keen interest in healthy living. Large numbers of people blindly follow advice from the internet or other unchecked sources, only to end up in hospital. The recent exposure of a fraudulent medical author, Zhang Wuben, has certainly added to the need for tougher regulations.