GOVT. ACT,LAWS & REGULATIONS RELATED TO A.H

THE DRUGS & MAGIC REMEDIES (OBJECTIONABLE ADVERTISEMENT) ACT,1954 OF INDIA :PEOPLE WHO ARE ENGAGED IN PROPAGATING FALSE CLAIM RELATED TO HUMAN & VETERINARY (ANIMAL HEALTH CARE ) REMEDY ON SOCIAL MEDIA MUST KNOW THE LEGAL ASPECT

September 30, 2022

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Advertisement and media are playing a significant role in our daily lives. The drug industries to promote the growth in their industries are often prone to promoting misleading advertisements of drugs, which is not only legal to do but also costs the life of the human being who buys and consumes the drugs. To avoid such misfortunes the Central Government has brought forward an enactment in the year 1954 called Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954 and Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Rules, 1955.

Reason of enactment of Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954

Below mentioned points are considered to be important reasons for the enactment of Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954:

Before the enactment of this Act, there was no law to punish the unprincipled and unscrupulous people who were engaged in false advertisements and claimed miraculous health, particularly health.
The people were engaged in false advertisements of various drugs and medical remedies were also advertised without any fear.
Their advertisements not only possessed a threat to society at large but also to the people who believed in such advertisements and acted accordingly.
The government enacted strict rules to prevent the self-medication by the consumers regarding various diseases and conditions.

All about Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954

The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954 of India

The Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954 was enacted by the Central government in 1954 to curtail the freedom of the advertisers of the drugs and prohibit the advertisement of drugs, which claimed to have certain magic remedies. Important sections of this act are the prohibition of advertisement of certain drugs for the treatment of certain diseases and disorders.

Prohibition of advertising of certain drugs for the treatment of certain diseases and disorders

Section 3 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act,1954 states that no person shall engage themselves in the publication of advertisement of drugs which will as a consequence of the publication of the advertisement, bring about the following consequences:

the use of drugs will either results in procurement of miscarriage of women or it will prevent the conception of the women; or
the use drug will either results in the maintenance or improvement of the capacity of human beings for sexual pleasure; or
drugs dealing with the menstrual disorder in women in; or
drugs dealing with diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder or condition which have been specified in the schedule or any other disease or condition as specified under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954.

Prohibition of misleading advertisements related to drugs

Section 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954 provides that no person shall take a part in the publication of advertisement relating to a drug if that advertisement contains any one of the matter as mentioned below which may result either:

directly or indirectly gives a false impression regarding the true character of the drug; or
is engaged in making a false claim for the drug; or
Is engaged in misleading in any material particular.

Prohibition of advertisement of magic remedies for the treatment of certain diseases and disorders

Section 5 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954 provides that no person shall be allowed to work on administering magic remedies and shall not engage themselves in the publication of the advertisement of magic remedies for the treatment of certain diseases and disorders as mentioned under Section 3 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954.

Prohibition of import into, and export from, India of certain advertisements

Section 6 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954 states no person shall be allowed to import or export from, any documents which are prohibited under Section 3, 4 and 5 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954.

Penalty for contravention

Section 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act,1954 states if any person contravenes the Act or any rules made under this Act are:

For the first conviction, the person shall be liable for either imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine or both if the situation arises.
For the second time involving the same offence, the person shall be liable for either imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine or both if the situation arises.

Jurisdiction to try offences

Section 10 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act,1954 states that no court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate of the first class shall be allowed to try an offence which is punishable under this act.

Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Rules,1955

The Central Government enacted the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Rule, 1955. Below are a few important rules:

Scrutiny of misleading advertisements related to drugs

Rule 3 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Rule, 1955 states that any person, authorised by the state government in this behalf, it is satisfied with an advertisement relating to drugs, contravening the Section 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act 1954, then that person may give directions to the manufacturer, packer, distributor and seller to hand over a composition of the drug for holding the scrutiny of the advertisement and checking upon if it complies with the directions issued by the authorised person. Any person contravening the said order shall be liable under Section 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954.

How advertisement may be sent confidentially

Rule 5 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Rule, 1955 states documents which contain the advertisements relating to the drugs as mentioned in clause(c) of sub-section (1) of Section 14 shall send a copy of the advertisement to the registered medical practitioner or the retail chemist or the wholesale chemist through the registered post.

Prohibition of advertisement of drugs for the treatment of disease

Rule 6 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Rule, 1955 states that no person shall be allowed to take part in the publication of the advertisement relating to the drugs which could be used for diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder, or condition specified in the schedule which is annexed to the rules.

Conclusion

Keeping the consumer’s interest in mind, India should adopt the legal policies which are prevalent in other countries. In Canada, the Canadian Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board has been established. The important role of this board is that before the advertisement of the drug is displayed for the promotion, the doctors or health providers have to get approval from the board to advertise their drugs. The board consists of representatives of medical journals, physicians, consumer groups, pharmaceuticals and advertising boards. India should adopt a legal policy to prevent misleading advertisements relating to drugs.

This article is written by Chandana pursuing B.Com.LLB(Hons) from The Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University (SOEL). This article deals with a study on Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954.

Source- https://blog.ipleaders.in/

References

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