NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry has kept in cold storage its proposal to amend the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954, which aimed to take stringent action against misleading advertisements, including of Ayush medicines, an RTI reply has revealed.
The ministry had proposed amendments to the Act, which prohibits the advertisement for remedies and treatments that allegedly possess magical qualities, on February 3, 2020. The Act applies to advertisements for drugs including Ayurvedic, Siddha, Homeopathy and Unani.
The proposed amendments also sought to widen the law’s ambit by covering advertisements for 24 more diseases and disorders. These include ads for drugs to enhance sexual performance, improve skin fairness, increase height, and against premature ageing.
However, in reply to an RTI filed by Kerala-based ophthalmologist Dr KV Babu, who had asked about the status of the proposed amendments, the ministry said the query had been transferred to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), India’s regulatory body for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The CDSCO, in its October 4 reply, said it has no further info on the draft proposal, which was kept in the public domain for stakeholders’ comment.
“In view of the concerns raised at several quarters on implementation and effectiveness of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954, from time to time, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, proposed to amend the … Act to keep pace with changing time and technology. In this regard, a Draft Bill was published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on February 3, 2020. CDSCO, as such, has no further information,” the reply said. “It is clear that the proposal has been kept in cold storage,” Babu told this paper.