The Chinese Ministry of Health has stepped up its inspections of
medical institutions suspected of distributing fake medical
advertisements.
From Dec. 1 to 31, local health authorities will not be allowed to
issue certificates to medical institutions for distributing medical
advertisements, said the ministry's spokesman Mao Qun'an at a press
conference on Monday.
He said the illustration of medical techniques, treatment
methods, patients or experts, the army and armed police and
sure-fast guarantees of recovery would be banned from medical
advertising.
China's medical advertising market has grown rapidly in recent
years. The country's advertising business was worth 7.6 billion
yuan (US$ 950 million) in 2005, ranking sixth in the world.
However, some adverts for fake medicines have misled consumers.
In the first three quarters of last year, 11,000 irregular medical
advertisements were reported. In the first nine months of this
year, 4,644 cases were dealt with by the authorities.
Last month, China set out its regulations on medical
advertisements in an attempt to put a stop to false and misleading
advertising.
The new regulations, which will take effect on January 1, 2007,
will eliminate exaggeration of the effects of certain medical
treatments by banning the mention of any disease names.
An advertisement can reveal no more than the following
information: name of the medical institution, its address and phone
number, specialty and qualification, type of ownership, number of
beds and opening hours, according to the regulations.
Medical advertisements will continue to be approved by
provincial health authorities, but more emphasis will be placed on
vetting the text used in the adverts to market the products.
The new regulations also increased the penalty for violating the
law. In serious cases, medical institutions can be suspended or
even have their licenses revoked.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)