Publishing units in China are being ordered to further tighten the supervision over advertisements of drugs and various healthcare products. A circular regarding the issue has been released on June 21, 2013 in order to crack down on scams related to ads.
The circular issued is not supposed to advertise drugs or health care products and is not even supposed to recommend doctors or medical care institutes in the name of announcing scientific knowledge or advertising consultations with experts. The circular was issued by the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Film, Radio and Television.
The circular went on to read that the advertisements must be visibly marked as such and they are forbidden from being published as news reports. It was also stated that no related contacts should be allowed to appear in reports of personnel or features on enterprises.
The publishing units are being urged at all levels to cooperate with the relative departments in order to tighten the necessary supervision. This will also help to punish press units who are involved in ad-related scams. The move has been taken with an intention to reduce the misuse of certain drugs which are not supposed to be sold without a prescription and will also help to cut down the issue of drug abuse from the society.
