BREACHES ALLEGED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 198, 21 August 1943, Page 6

BREACHES ALLEGED

NEWSPAPER CASES

MEDICAL ADVERTISING

(P A ) DUNEWN, Friday. What were stated to be the first prosecutions in the Dominion under the Medical Advertisements Act, 1942, were heard by Mr. H. W. Bundle, S.M., in the Police Court when the Otago Daily .£ m^L n a in "| Witness Company and the Evening Qtay rnrrraanv were each cnaiseu inserted. . Outlining the eharge against the Otaeo Daily Times, Mr. J. B. DeaKer, for the Crown, explained that a man acting on behalf of a company selling £S supplies and trading .under a trade nom de plume, inserted a catalogue of medical supplies The spirit of the Act was to control medical advertisements, and it was nTcessary therefore that advertisers shouW be required to include some matter by which they could De Ktined In the present case a trade nom de plume was used and a post office box number was given as an En d terfng a plea of not guilty, Mr. SiSfor the Otago Daily Times contended that the Crown had not nroved its case, as there was no Evidence to show that because the advertisement was published in the medical column it came within the ineaning of the Act. To succeed the α-own must show that the advertisement contained a direct reference to drugs or other commodities retired ton clause 2 of the Act. Actually it referred merely to a catalogue of chemists' supplies and chemists' supnlies might mean anything. P Council added that it was a question whether the trade name and post office box address were not sufficient to meet the requirements of th The C riiagistrate said he would take the opportunity of considering the matter, but his view at the moment was that he would dismiss the charge charge against the Evening Star Company, which nleaded guilty, Mr. Deaker said that th! advertisement was different from that in the Otago. Daily Times m that it clearly claimed that certain tablets would act on the functions ot the human body. It was submitted, moreover, that the trade name and post office box address did not constitute the true name and address The magistrate agreed with this submission, and expressed the opinion that the Act did not contemplate a trade name, but the true name of the person on whose behalf the advertisement was published. He reserved his decision.