VICTORIAN HEALTH ACT REGULATIONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19056, 8 July 1924, Page 12

VICTORIAN HEALTH ACT REGULATIONS

A meeting of wholesale druggists, manufacturers, and others concerned, was held recently in Melbourne to discuss the Victorian Public Health Act Regulations. These had been gazetted to come into force from May 14 last and would have had the effect of repealing the regulations and standard of foods and drugs issued on January 3, 1919. Paragraph 79, Patent and Proprietary Medicines, provides:—“Every package containing a patent proprietary medicine shall have attached thereto a label in which shall be inscribed legibly and prominently in the English language, the name of the ingredients therein for which therapeutic properties are claimed, and the measure, number, quantity, volume, or weight of such ingredients contained in the dose recommended for an adult.” The penalties under the Act for nonobservance of the above regulations are both pronounced and severe, as will be seen by paragragh 98 as under:— Penalties.—“ Every person who: (a) Has in his possession or his control for the purpose of sale or storage or preparation for sale for human consumption any food, drug, article or substance which has been packed, labelled or dealt with in any manner contrary to these regulations or which does not comply with the requirements of these regulations; or (b) does any act forbidden to be done by these regulations; or (c) fails to do any act directed to be done by these regulations—shall be liable to a penalty of not more than twenty pounds; and in the case of a continuing offence a further daily penalty of not more than five pounds; but so that the total of such penalties shall not exceed one hundred pounds.” The meeting finally determined to convene a further one, which was held in the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce rooms, and the following organisations were represente: Merchants’ associations, wholesale and retail druggists, wholsale merchants, manufacturing chemists,- metropolitaji chemists,country stores and traders, pharmaceutical council and proprietary articles traders. The result of this meeting will appear in a latter issue.