BOARD OF CONTROL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22476, 11 January 1943, Page 4

BOARD OF CONTROL

Medical Advertising

WELLINGTON, January 9.

Close supervision of medical advertisements will begin this month under the powers given in the Medical Advertisements Act, passed during a recent .session. The first active sten will be tne announcement by the Minister of Health (the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer) of the personnel of the controlling board, which is to comprise the Director-General of Health (Dr. M. T I. Watt) as chairman, an analyst, a medical practitioner, and two others appointed by the Governor-General

The term “advertisements" covers a very wide field, as it includes any spoken or written words, pictures, and drawings. The commodities coming within the scope of the law comprise those containing drugs, as well as cosmetics and dentifrices, and it will be the duty of the board to examine the claims made in respect of all these commodities, and pass judgment even on testimonials which embody statements regarding their efficacy. This class of legislation is not new in the Dominion, although the Quackery Prevention Act, passed many years ago, does not seem to have been adequate to deal with the subject. The farming community, however, is effectively protected from exploitation in respect to stock remedies. For some time it has been necessary for the vendors of these lines to submit to a Stock Remedies Board the exact formula and all the advertising relating to the product. Quite a number of stock remedies have ceased to be marketed as the result of the board’s decision that they are ineffective to deal with the diseases they enumerate, but the position of more reliable products have, been improved by the weedingout process. It will be interesting to see whether the Medical Advertisements Board will lollow the precedent made by those administering the Stock Remedies Act, under which no product can be advertised as a cure for any ailment. The most that can be publicly claimed for it is that it constitutes a remedy.