§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he intends to take about the illegibility of warnings about the side effects of drugs in advertisements; and if he will take steps to enforce the Medicine Advertising Regulations 1978 in accordance with the Medicines Act 1968.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe Medicines (Advertising to Medical and Dental Practitioner) Regulations 1978 require that an advertisement contains a succinct statement of any relevant entries in the approved data sheet — the document which companies are required to send to all doctors about side-effects, precautions and contraindications. In accordance with the regulations these particulars must be printed in a clear and legible manner and be placed in such a position that their relationship to the claims and indications of the product can be readily appreciated.
In the light of these regulations, the DHSS monitors advertisements for new products and investigates all complaints. If an advertisement is unacceptable, the company is contacted immediately with a view to correcting the advertisement. The trade associations for the pharmaceutical industry also run self-regulatory schemes for maintaining advertising standards. Invariably companies comply with requests to change their advertising including improvements in legibility where necessary. In serious cases we will prosecute. If the hon. Member knows of current cases where required information is not legible, I shall be grateful if he will let me know as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many allegations of breaches of the Medicines Act 1968 relating to misleading advertising have been made to him since 1979; how many have led to prosecutions; and how many have been referred to the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[pursuant to his reply, 26 March 1984, c. 66]: Since 1979, our Department has received and investigated 203 cases of alleged breach of the Medicines Advertising Regulations. Two cases led to successful prosecution by the Department. Forty-seven cases were referred to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Where necessary companies corrected or withdrew their advertising material.