In yet another attempt to suppress advertisements that continue to stain
the Chinese media, the country's drug watchdog yesterday asked its local
administrators to ban the products of medical companies found to post illegal
advertisements.
Serious offenders will also be stripped of their advertisement licenses for
one year, said an official with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
"Some medical manufacturers and retailers violate China's advertising law by
providing false information or exaggerating the benefits of their products," the
SFDA official said.
Some also misled customers with endorsements by self-appointed experts, he
said.
In March, the SFDA blacklisted seven particularly egregious offenders who
continue to post illegal advertisements despite being punished last year.
A survey by the SFDA of 466 newspapers and 55 local TV stations from January
to November last year uncovered 48,990 illegal advertisements for drug products.
