The President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), DCOP Dr. E. Ewusi-Emmim has noted with concern an escalation of advertisements on unproven treatment, prevention and cure remedies for serious ailments that threaten the health and safety of Ghanaians.
According to the President, this practice is in gross breach and disregards for the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) laws of the country.
Citing an example of misleading advertisement in one of the leading newspapers in the country which is in breach of the Public Health Act 2012, GMA stated it is wrong for a massage parlour to offer treatment for cancer of the breast, brain, liver, kidneys, lungs, and prostate.
Addressing the press at the hall of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), DCOP Dr. Ewusi-Emmim insisted that the aforementioned advertisement is one of many obnoxious that are placed in both the electronic (TV and FM stations) and print media on a daily basis.
He stressed it is worthy of note that the section 113 of the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) with the caption “Deception of Consumers” states that “a person commits an offence if that person labels, packages, sells or advertises a drug, herbal medicinal product, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical substance in contravention of regulations or guidelines made under this part or in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or misbranded as regards its character, constitution, value, potency, quality, composition, merits or safety.”
“For the purposes of subsection (1), a drug or herbal medicinal product is misbranded if it is so coloured, coated, powdered or published in a manner that changes the product or if is made to appear to be of a better or greater therapeutic value than it really is, or if it is not labelled in the prescribed manner. If its label or container or anything accompanying the drug or herbal medicinal product bears a statement, design or device which makes a false claim for the drug or herbal medicinal product, or which is false or misleading,” he quoted the law.
He added that the section 114 of the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) states that a person shall not advertise a drug, a herbal medicinal product, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical substance to the general public as a treatment, preventive or cure for a disease, disorder or an abnormal physical state, unless the advertisement has been approved by the Authority.
He quoted again that in the law, despite subsection (1), a person shall not advertise a drug, herbal medicinal product, medical device or cosmetic for the treatment of cure for diseases specified in the Fifth Schedule.
The Fifth Schedule of the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) states: ‘Diseases for which advertisement for treatment, prevention or cure are prohibited are sexually transmitted diseases, other forms of genito-urinary diseases, AIDS or diseases connected with the human reproductive functions.
The following disease are also part for which advertisement for treatment, prevention and cure are prohibited: alcoholism, amenorrhoea, appendicitis, arteriosclerosis, asthma, bladder stones, blindness, cancer, convulsion, deafness, diabetes, diphtheria, diseases of the reproductive organ, dropsy, epilepsy or fits, erysipelas, fibroid, gallstones, goitre, heart disease, hernia or rupture, hypertension, infertility, kidney failure, kidney stones, leprosy, leukaemia, locomotortazy, systemic lupus erythematosis, mental disorders and nephritis or bright’s disease.
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