MEDICINES (ADVERTISEMENT AND SALE) (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

6.26 p.m.

The Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill was introduced in the last Parliament but has since lapsed in view of the dissolution of Parliament on 8th February, 1968.

The Bill makes a number of significant amendments to the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance, 1955.

For the past few years, the Ministry of Health has been receiving numerous complaints regarding undesirable advertisements appearing in local newspapers concerning medicines or unqualified persons claiming cures for a wide range of conditions, from sexual weakness, chronic sterility, menstrual disorders to kidney diseases, etc. In general, these advertisements are deceitful, misleading and are calculated to dupe the uninformed and gullible members of the public, so that they can part with their money to purchase these so-called "miraculous cures" for all their ills. Existing Ordinances for the control of such advertisements, namely, the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance, 1955, and the Indecent Advertisement Ordinance (Cap. 142), are inadequate and prosecutions under these Ordinances have proved difficult and unsuccessful, particularly as advertisers have got round the restrictions by using homonyms and synonyms, or by claiming to advertise medical skills instead of medicines.

My Ministry has given very careful consideration to this problem before this present stage of proposing an Amendment Bill to this House. As far back as 1962, a Committee was formed to examine the problem and suggest measures of control with the following terms of reference:-

'To study the current undesirable and unethical "cures" and "advertisement of cures", and to suggest measures of control.' This Committee made certain recommendations for control. Subsequently, in 1966, the Committee was resuscitated under the same Chairman, Dr Gwee Ah Leng, with the following terms of reference:

'To study the current unethical, dishonest and undesirable advertisements pertaining to treatment, cures, and to the medical, skills of unqualified persons and to suggest measures of effective control.'

The unanimous conclusions of this Committee extended the recommendations of the previous Committee by reviewing and adding to the list of diseases prohibited for general advertising and by recommending a general ban on all advertisements pertaining' to medical skills.

The Committee also made certain recommendations for the effective control of labelling and importation of drugs which are being separately dealt with by the Controller of Imports and Exports as they relate to his control measures.

Copies of the Committee's report have been distributed to Members of this House through the Clerk of Parliament.

I would now like to elaborate on the Bill, clause by clause.

Clause 1 sets out the short title and commencement.

Clause 2 amends section 4 of the Ordinance by substituting a Schedule in place of the list of conditions and diseases mentioned in respect of which advertisements are prohibited. The Schedule may be amended by notification in the Gazette. This arrangement is obviously less cumbersome than having to amend the Ordinance whenever circumstances make it necessary to amend the list.

Clause 3 creates a new section aimed at prohibiting advertisements relating to medical skill or service. Medical practitioners of the Western school are forbidden to advertise by their ethics and this is controlled by a disciplinary body of the profession itself, namely, the Singapore Medical Council. The Chinese Physicians' Association have also officially declared its stand in public against advertisements by medical practitioners of the Chinese school. However, in their case, they are handicapped by lack of a disciplinary board, The amendment in this new section will, therefore, reinforce the hand of medical practitioners of the Chinese school who will now be able to see their stand reinforced by law. This prohibition will financially affect a number of publications in the Chinese medium, but public interest must supersede private interest, however much we may regret the loss of income to these establishments.

Clause 4 amends section 5 of the Ordinance so that the prohibition of advertisements on articles relating to abortion is extended to prohibit advertisements referring to medical skill or service relating to abortion.

Clause 5, which amends section 6 of the Ordinance, is consequential on the preceding sections. It tidies up the references made to various prohibitions so that these are correctly referred to. As part of the tidying-up process, a new subsection is added to provide for reference to the new prohibition of advertisments referring to medical skill or service within this section which sets Out provisions as to offences under the preceding sections.

Clause 6 amends section 7 of the Ordinance so as to clarify that where the required disclosure of composition of a medicine is written in a language other than the English language, such disclosure must be made in the English language as well as in any other language that may be used in addition to the English language.

Clause 7 creates a Schedule of diseases and conditions in respect of which advertisements are to be controlled. This Schedule reviews the list of the various diseases and conditions mentioned in section 4 of the Ordinance. The list is now extended to include insanity, menstrual disorders, sexual function, infertility, impotency and frigidity. The study by the Committee under Dr Gwee Ah Leng has indicated that the diseases and conditions mentioned in the Schedule constitute the happy hunting-ground of those unscrupulous advertisers who seek to get rich quickly by preying on the anxiety and desperation of the unfortunate victims of these diseases and conditions.

As there are a number of parties likely to be interested in the proposals contained in the Bill, such as doctors, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, importers of drugs and advertising agencies, it has been decided that the Bill should be referred to a Select Committee if the Second Reading is approved, so that wider 'consideration might be given to the suggested amendments.

Finally, as my predecessor in the Ministry of Health has stressed, may I say that we owe a duty to the people of Singapore to protect them from the unscrupulous exploitation of the quacks and others of the kind who make money out of the sufferings and despair of those who are not in a position to judge wisely. These amendments will translate a universally accepted principle in the medical code of ethics into a provision of the law of the land. I am confident that hon. Members of this House will give their support for the enactment of this proposed legislation.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

6.37 p.m.

Inche Rahmat Bin Kenap (Geylang Semi): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support this Bill.

With the passage of this Bill in Parliament, we will be able to control effectively the advertising of certain medicines in newspapers and other publications.

Mr Speaker, Sir, if we go through the pages of the Malay newspapers, we find ridiculous advertisements of medicines which claim to be able to turn an old man into a young man and an old lady into a virgin. How is this possible? I have read an advertisement in a Malay newspaper not long ago about a certain medicine which claims to be able to increase the sexual potency of men. It claimed that if a male person took that medicine, he would be like an elephant who had gone wild. If this claim is correctly made, I feel that such a medicine is very dangerous. If every male person in Singapore were to take this medicine, what would happen to our female population? I have also come across an advertisement in a newspaper about a certain kind of medicine called Ma'jun which is supposed to turn old ladies into virgins. If this claim is justified and all our female population were to take this medicine, what would happen to our male population? However, these medicines are not as effective as they are claimed to be. On the contrary, they affect the health of those people who take them. I feel that the newspapers and other publications which print these advertisements do so purely with a profit motive and without consideration for the welfare of members of the public.

Therefore, I support this Bill.

6.40 p.m.

Mr Sim Boon Woo (Changi): Mr Speaker, Sir, for some time now, certain so-called and self-styled "medical practitioners" have wantonly and unethically claimed to cure and treat all kinds of illnesses - in particular female ailments, such as overdue menstruation - and they have often procured illegal abortions as well. In the past, these quacks and street pedlars used to stand at street corners announcing their presence by beating gongs and playing music from their vans. They then orate to the people present about the miraculous qualities of the medicines they peddle. By such means, these rogues and vagabonds were able to sell whatever oil they were peddling as a miraculous cure for broken bones. To my surprise, I also found they were selling plain 'Aspro' pills as pregnancy pills and as cures for sterility and so on. However, by such means, they could reach only a limited number of people who happened to be attracted by the music from their vans and gongs and who fell prey to their oratory. But now these pedlars and quacks have become wiser. In order to reach a wider section of the public, they now use the Press to advertise their wonderful medicines and their nonsense. These malpractices, therefore, have become a real menace to our society. It is, therefore, opportune that this Bill be passed to control such malpractices.

Sir, these pedlars and quacks have already unscrupulously exploited and cheated a large section of the general public. Not only did the susceptible victims lose large sums of money, but, in fact, their diseases were made worse by the treatments and drugs. In some cases I believe the results were fatal. Such cases are the talk of the town. In fact, too many of our good citizens have fallen into these traps because of the advertisements claiming these miraculous cures.

Sir, our innocent public need protection and it is our responsibility and duty to see that they are protected as fully as possible. The Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) (Amendment) Bill is undoubtedly welcomed by all. On the other hand, it is very much regretted that it was not passed long ago. It should have been brought to this House much earlier. Nevertheless, with this amendment Bill, it is hoped that unscrupulous and unprincipled drug pedlars will be dealt with accordingly, so that our innocent citizens will be protected and no one will be deceived by unethical medical advertisements and swindled by quacks and medical pedlars.

6.45 p.m.

Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of this Bill. When our ancestors came from different parts of the world to this small island, they brought with them various methods of treating all kinds of ailments. We have still some people here who practise these traditional methods. Of course, there are some methods which are effective. But with the progress of time we should replace them with the latest medical methods to treat the sick among our people. Some people who fall ill just buy any kind of medicine for treatment without going to the hospital for proper care. When people, particularly those who have to work all day long fall ill, they hope to be cured in the fastest and quickest way. They therefore resort to ready-made medicines and fall victim to medical quacks and pedlars.

Mr Speaker, when we turn the pages of the local Chinese newspapers, we can see advertisements for medicine on every page. I have three copies of the latest editions. All these are large-sized advertisements and we can see all sorts of things in them.

Mr Speaker: Will the Member please identify the three papers?

Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon: (In Mandarin): The Nanyang Siang Pau, 2nd of May, 1968. In this edition we can see advertisements publicising "cure-all" medicines for various diseases. For instance:

'If you want to think of bearing children, come to us. We are specialists in promoting fertility and infertility. If there is no efficacy, money will be refunded in full.'

And so on. Sir, the advertisements are very attractively worded. Some quacks have their own ready-made medicines for sale and distribution in the market. Some of these are advertised in the newspapers as having been patented and registered with the Government. As a result, ignorant people are misled into believing that the Government has approved and recognised the medical skills of these quacks. Hence, these quacks have their way with the public. Consequently, the Government earns a disreputable name.

If we continue to allow these unscrupulous and good-for-nothing quacks to have their way with the public, maybe one day, Mr Speaker, we will see in the newspapers more shocking medical advertisements.

The Bill before us will, therefore, exercise some sort of control over these pedlars of medicines and quacks. Of course, this Bill will not affect all those who are professionally qualified in medicine. At present, the best way to control these quacks is to deny them the opportunity to advertise their products in the newspapers and thus mislead the poor people. We must educate the people to the efficacy of modern medicine. At the same time, however, we must exercise some sort of control over medical advertisments which mislead the public. That is why I support this Bill. It is by legislation that we can control these medical advertisments. This is only one way of dealing with the quacks. There are other ways to control and regulate their activities. I do not know whether the Minister for Health will consider setting some sort of official examination to legalise some of the Chinese qualified Sinsehs.

6.51 p.m.

Mr Yeoh Ghim Seng (Joo Chiat): Mr Speaker, Sir, as the only medical Member in this House, although seemingly incognito, and as a member of a profession that requires no advertisments, I cannot resist the temptation to say a few words on this amendment Bill. The original Ordinance has been in existence for some years, but somehow it has proved to be inadequate. It has too many loopholes, and all sorts of savoury and Un savoury advertisments on medicines and so-called professional skills are able to find their way into the newspapers, to the profit of the advertisers. Such fanfare is not worthy of detailed mention in this House or even to fall on the ears of hon. Members. Suffice it for me to say that the advertisers are either gods or fakes in what they so blantantly claim to be able to do. Illnesses of any description, fatal or otherwise, are practically guaranteed to be cured. Appetite, digestive or reproductive, can be improved, increased and strengthened. I presume, Mr Speaker, Sir, looking at such advertisements in some of the daily papers, one must have the impression that the advertisers are either leading the readers up the garden path or they are trying to promise them elixirs of life. Most of our citizens must surely have developed a sufficient degree of sophistication to ignore or laugh at such medical claims. Unfortunately, quite a number of our citizens happen to be gullible enough to swallow these advertisements, hook, line and sinker, and put their hard-earned wages and even their lives into the hands of these smart manipulators.

It is therefore time for the Ministry of Health to plug up any loophole in the existing Ordinance. The amendment Bill seems to me to be doing just this. I therefore support it.

6.54 p.m.

Mr Chua Sian Chin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not propose to reply to the comments made since all hon. Members who have spoken on this Bill have supported it. Not only have hon. Members supported it but some of them have, in a very picturesque manner, given vivid examples of the malpractices that are going on in respect of medical advertisements.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Resolved, "That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection." - [Mr Chua Sian Chin].