Pakistan calls for medicine ads removal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The Pakistan government has pledged to eradicate adverts for health-related products which are issued by non-certified practitioners, in a bid to reduce the sale of fake and substandard medicines in the country. Secretary for Health Dr Mahreen Bhutto called for a removal of all health-related product adverts, proposing ministry of health approval should be required before medicines can be advertised. Dr Bhutto said the ministry would begin working with the ministry of information and broadcasting and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to develop methods to check advertisements for substandard drugs. She also urged that the number of drug inspectors examining the quality of drugs be increased nationwide.