(Image source from: scconline.com)

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed a draft that has been amended to the Drugs and Magic Remedies under the Objectionable Advertisements Act of 1954. The draft that has been proposed states that a punishment of a jail term up to five years and a fine up to Rs 50 lakh for the advertisements for magic remedies and for the drugs that promote fair skin, enhancement of sexual performance, treating stammering, infertility in women, premature ageing and greying of hair among several others.

Several additions have been made to the list that is already existing which includes several diseases, disorders and conditions that are covered in the Act. According to the Act, the medicines and products which when used would cure the 78 diseases, disorders, conditions that have been listed in the Act should not be advertised.

Few among the the new additions that have been made to the already existing list in the Act include the advertisements for drugs in order to improve the sexual performance and the skin tone and also which treat the premature ageing along with the drugs that can be used for AIDS, greying of hair, stammering, infertility in women etc.

Under the Objectionable Advertisement Act , the first conviction is punishable with either imprisonment for up to six months or fine or both the imprisonment and the fine can be initiated as a punishment. Further more convictions may lead to imprisonment up to one year or fine or both.

It has been proposed by the amendment to increase the penalties as fine for the convictions and has suggested that for the first conviction, the imprisonment should be increased and made up to two years and the penalty up to Rs 10lakh. For the further subsequent conviction, the imprisonment to be extended to five years and the fine up to Rs 50 Lakh.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that the amendment is being made in order to maintain the pace with the time and technology that is changing with every passing day.

The draft bill has also proposed an expansion for the definition of an advertisement where in an advertisement is any audio or video publicity, representation, endorsement or pronouncement that can be made by the means of light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website and which includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice, banner, poster or any other such documents.

By Shrithika Kushangi