MEDICINES (ADVERTISEMENT AND SALE) (AMENDMENT) BILL (As reported from Select Committee)

Order for Third Reading read.

5.53 p.m.

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

The two major provisions embodied in the Bill to control advertisements have come through unchanged.

These are:

(i) The prohibition of advertisements in clause 3 on medicines, remedies or appliances for the treatment of certain medical conditions listed in the schedule. And the sale of medicines is specifically controlled under the provi sion of clause 7 which requires the disclosure of the active ingredients of the medicine on the label. The label to be written in English as well as the language of the origin of the medicine.

(ii) The prohibition of advertisements relating to a person's medical skills or services.

The prohibition of self-advertisement and advertisements for the treatment of certain conditions forms the core of the Bill. They are necessary for the effective control of the more flag rant and exaggerated claims which mislead and exploit the sufferings and anxieties of our people by unscrupulous people.

These two provisions were not seriously challenged and have generally been accepted in principle. In fact, there was one written representation which stated that the ban on advertisements should extend to all diseases or medical conditions. The purpose, however, of the Bill is to control effectively the more flagrant and exaggerated advertisements which are commonly published and which purport to offer cures and effective treatment of conditions which would probably be best left to trained professional persons or be undertaken in medical institutions.

The Chinese Physicians' Association have declared themselves in support of the prohibition of self-advertisements and advertisements for services. In their case, they are handicapoed by the lack of a disciplinary board. The amendment will, therefore, reinforce the hand of physicians of the Chinese school which will now be able to reinforce their stand by law.

Some reservations were expressed on the banning of advertisements entirely. A suggestion was that "exaggerated" advertisements only should be prohibit ed, but advertisements might be allowed if they are not more than 10 square inches and limited to giving the practitioner's name and address. Another suggested that only "genuine" practitioners, in contra-distinction to the bogus practitioners, may be allowed to advertise. These, of course, are unrealistic. It is impossible to define when an advertisement is exaggerated or otherwise, and there is no real way of distinguishing the so-called "genuine" from the "bogus" physicians, especially those who claim to practise the various systems of Eastern medicine which are traditional, without set standards of training, examinations, or disciplinary bodies.

Two minor amendments have been made to the Bill in the Select Committee. Clause 2 adds to the definition of an advertisement with the expression "and any other form of advertising".

The amendment was made following the representation of the Pharmacists' Association. The Secretary of the Pharmacists' Association had drawn attention to an ambiguity in the definition of "advertisement". In the original Ordinance the definition of "advertise ment" was adequate to control advertisements for the listed conditions. As the amendment Bill extends the control of advertisements to prohibit personal advertisements, that is, advertisements referring to a person's ability or skills, or services offered, it is necessary to extend the definition of "advertisement" accordingly. However, by doing so, it would mean that the control of advertisements would extend to prohibiting certain legitimate name-plates used by medical and dental practitioners or sign boards of clinics or dispensaries where such professional practitioners work. Obviously, it is not the intention to prohibit such legitimate sign-boards or name-plates. Therefore, an exemption c1ause (clause 8) has been added in order to give the power to the Minister to determine which advertisements may be exempted from the provisions of the Bill.

It is obviously impossible to define the limits of advertisements when they would come under control, and when they do not. Rather than making frequent amendments to the law, which will require the complex procedure of introduction and passage through Parliament, the Minister is given the discre tion to determine the classes of advertisements which are exempted from time to time. A body of case practice will eventually be formed which will help to determine the application of the law and its regulations and define what may be advertised and what may not be advertised.

The passage of this Bill will provide for more effective control over advertisements on medical matters which have not been possible under the original Ordinance.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Third time and passed.