“Health Ministry” implements new controls to regulate medical advertisements

• The regulations aim to govern medical advertisements for pharmaceutical centers, clinics, and private-sector shops.

• The decision defines all content promoting health products, whether paid or free and regardless of the medium, as advertisements.

• It enforces strict controls on advertising content, banning misleading terms like “best,” “latest,” “fastest,” or “only,” along with unprofessional titles such as “legend” or “celebrity expert.”

As part of its commitment to ensuring the quality of health services and protecting consumer rights, the Ministry of Health, led by Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi, has issued a ministerial decision introducing new regulations and controls. These regulations aim to control the process of medical advertisements for pharmaceutical centers, clinics, and shops within the private sector.

According to the ministerial decision, this initiative is designed to enhance transparency and protect consumers from misleading advertisements, ensuring that all medical promotions adhere to approved health standards.

The ministerial decision included a comprehensive definition of the pharmaceutical centers and shops included under the new regulations. It outlined the key definitions for the relevant parties, such as pharmaceutical centers, which encompass pharmacies, warehouses, pharmaceutical factories, scientific offices, and the headquarters of companies involved in the import of medicines and medical products.

Additionally, the decision clarified that “places” refer to locations where health products, nutritional supplements, herbal, and cosmetic preparations are displayed or traded without a license from the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, “sales shops” are defined as entities licensed by the Ministry to display and sell nutritional supplements, health products, or veterinary medicines.

The ministerial decision also specified that any content published to promote health products, whether for a fee or free of charge, and regardless of whether it is published through traditional or digital media, is considered an advertisement.

The Ministry of Health emphasized the requirement to obtain prior authorization from the Drug Inspection Department before publishing any advertisements, prohibiting the publication of such content without authorization across all platforms, including print, audio, visual, or social media.

The provisions of the decision apply to all advertisements shared on social media platforms, including those on official accounts of pharmaceutical centers, sales outlets, and influencer accounts.

Additionally, the decision mandates that each pharmacy or sales outlet create one account per platform, ensuring that the account clearly displays the name of the center or store, its address, and its license number.

The decision prohibits the advertising of product prices, as well as the offering of promotions, discounts, or special deals, without prior approval from the Drug Inspection Department. Additionally, it bans the advertisement of any facilities or installment payment systems unless a license has been obtained.

Furthermore, the decision exempts voluntary campaigns, provided they receive the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities. It also establishes strict controls on advertising content, prohibiting the use of misleading terms such as “best,” “latest,” “fastest,” or “only,” as well as unprofessional titles like “legend” or “celebrity expert.” The decision forbids the photographing of patients or consumers inside pharmaceutical centers for any advertising purposes.

The decision also outlined the formation of a committee, led by the Assistant Undersecretary for Drug and Food Control Affairs, to review licensing applications for advertisements. This committee is tasked with issuing the necessary licenses for advertisements and has the authority to revoke them in the event of violations of the established regulations.

What’s more is that the decision emphasized the enforcement of penalties outlined in the laws regulating the pharmacy profession and drug circulation, including both administrative and criminal penalties for violators. It further clarified that the provisions of the decision do not apply to advertisements published by the Ministry of Health or pharmacies affiliated with government agencies.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the decision seeks to enhance transparency in medical advertisements, safeguard consumers from misleading claims, regulate the use of social media for promoting health products, and ensure that advertisements provide accurate, scientifically backed information.

Source: Al Jarida