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Abstracts: As per the Drugs and Magic Remedies
(Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954,1 which was laid
down in April 1954, section 4 clearly mentions regarding
prohibition of advertisements relating to drugs and
states that no person shall take part in any such
advertisement which is false, misleading or gives a
false impression about the true character of the drug.
On the contrary, media is projecting certain drugs
contravening the laid down rules and regulations. In
some advertisements, miserable condition of the patient
is shown before taking the advertised drug, following
with the second segment where it is depicted how
healthy, fresh, and wonderful the person is after
consuming the drug advertised. Such type of
advertisements induces self-medication, especially these
days where every one tends to be busy. Instead of going
to a prescriber, one would gulp down the drugs from OTC
and will go on a self medication spree, which many times
can prove dangerous. Despite these facts, the law making
and enforcement agencies are yet to break up their
silence to address these issues. Thanks to the boom in
the communication industry, we often get advertisement
about certain remedial agents e.g. antacids,
antipyretics, cough & cold remedies, cemergency
contraceptive pills etc. It is sometimes even difficult
to label certain agents as drugs e.g. Chyavanprash etc.
A flavored sodium bicarbonate powder is advertised as
ultimate answer to hyperacidity. However, it is never
shown that a hypertensive patient may consume it on some
provocation and can load himself with extra sodium.2 The
habit is imitative and repetition can create havoc. The
cough and cold remedies containing opioids are projected
as an ultimate remedy for cough, but they are being used
as the cheapest version of drugs for addiction3 because
of their easy availability and affordability. One can
get the desired kick by consuming a bottle of codeine
containing cough syrups which are available openly as
OTC drugs at affordable prices. The story is not
different in any part of India. One can find piles of
empty cough syrup bottles near hostels and even in the
bushes adjoining the playgrounds. Various cold remedies
should also not be advertised because many of such
preparations have phenyl propanolamine which can lead to
stroke in young women and such drugs can even lead to
serious cardiac ailments in patients with preexisting
coronary artery disease. Also, many cough remedies may
cause problems if taken with other drugs.
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