Section 14

The proposed ban on direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising has not materialised. (Hat tip: Kiwiblog)

There had been rumbling that the new Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill would include a ban on advertising prescription drugs on television. That ban has not eventuated - not because the government has suddenly developed a respect for free speech, but because they couldn’t guarantee the numbers to pass the law.

The bill, expected to have its first reading next week, had been expected to curtail the advertising of prescription medicines.

However, widespread political opposition has forced Labour to scrap any attempt at a ban.

State Services Minister Annette King said the Government’s preference was to ban prescription medicine advertisements but “the necessary support within Parliament” was not there.

Congratulations to all those members who failed to provide that necessary support.

The threat of censorship still exists with Health Minister Annette King showing her anti-speech colours by promising “better controls” to ensure the public is given “balanced and truthful [i.e. only state approved] information.”

Some background information can be found in the Foundation for Advertising Research’s report on DTC advertising of pharmaceuticals.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 11:08 am and is filed under Television, Labour, Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.