A package of measures to regulate the advertising of medicinal products in the Island will be laid before Tynwald this month (19-21 June), before coming into force in the summer.
The Department of Health and Social Care will lay an Order to bring into operation Part 3 of the Medicines Act 2003 which deals with the promotion of sales of medicinal products.
In practice, this ‘chapter’ of the Act will make it a criminal offence for an individual in the Island to make false or misleading claims about medicinal products. It also gives the Department powers to make regulations governing which products can be advertised and the form and content of those adverts.
Provisions specify a series of circumstances in which making false or misleading claims about medicinal products could lead to prosecution. These controls are designed to protect the public, patients and those who prescribe and will apply to medicinal products sold in retail outlets, pharmacies and those available on prescription.
The Order, due to come into operation on 1 July 2018, has arisen from a wide scale review by the DHSC of existing medicines legislation.
Minister Ashford said:
’The Department is in the process of carrying out a review to ensure our legislation in this area is relevant and up-to-date. It is therefore sensible to bring this Part of the Act into operation at this time, as these measures will strengthen our defence against the false and misleading promotion of medicinal products.’
