Government Set To Relax Regulation On Advertising Drugs
The Department of Health has pledged to sweep away “the outdated restrictions” on advertising non-prescription medicines in the UK.
The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has launched a consultation proposal to remove all legal restrictions on advertising non-prescription medicines to the public, which could potentially create a lucrative new market for advertisers. Current legislation forbids the advertising of 13 diseases including ear disorders, heart disease and diseases affecting the bones and the liver.
Health minister, Lord Philip Hunt, commented: “In today’s modern health service, consumers should be able to receive information about medicines they can self purchase, empowering them to manage their own condition when it is safe to do so.”
However the government has indicated it is not willing to extend its proposals, which it claims will empower patients, to prescription drugs. Lord Hunt added: “Existing controls in the advertising of prescription drugs will continue in order to protect public safety.
Advertising prescription drugs to consumers is not currently permitted in the UK. However, the question of whether the ban should be lifted may be out of the government’s hands as the European Commission is currently undertaking a wide ranging review of the EU rules on the authorisation of pharmaceutical products.
The Consumers Association has warned the government that advertising is not necessarily empowering to patients, as it is intrinsically biased. Its research points to the American example where advertising has been increasingly used by drug companies as a way of generating patient loyalty to the company brand, rather than raising patient awareness about specific diseases or even the products that are available to treat those diseases.
Medicines Control Agency www.mca.gov.uk
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