ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recommended to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), National Council for Homoeopathy (NCH) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to devise guidelines regarding advertisements by medicinal and healthcare service providers in order to stop deceptive marketing practices.
The CCP gave the recommendations in its order passed in a case involving deceptive marketing practices by a homoeopathic practitioner, Mian Liaquat Ali of Liaquat Hospital, Lahore. The order was passed by a CCP bench comprising Vadiyya Khalil, the chairperson, Dr Joseph Wilson, Dr Shahzad Ansar and Ikramul Haque Qureshi.
In its order the CCP said the guidelines must mention that the advertisements should be accurate and should not contain false claims or misrepresentations of material fact; must not give rise to false or unjustified expectations; must make necessary disclosure if its absence would render the advertisement misleading; and must have a reasonable basis regarding the claims. [Source]
The suggestion of guidelines by the Competition Commission of
Pakistan seem reasonable on the surface, and so far have been enforced with a
fair approach. However, care must be taken that this latest move doesn’t turn
into a way of bashing alternative medical practices. In Australia the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission became an arm of the
pharmaceutical industry and is being used to suppress any treatment that isn’t
a drug based Pharma product. They recently prosecuted a highly experienced homeopath
who was making completely honest statements, such as….whooping cough vaccine
doesn’t always work and homeopathy is useful in treating whooping cough…both
true!. The Australian Commission and the courts are in league with Pharma to
suppress alternative therapies. Beware that does not happen in Pakistan which
has a proud tradition of homeopathic and other holistic types of medicine.