If pharmaceutical businesses want to advertise their products, they must be approved by authorities. This is a highlight in the amendment to correct shortcoming of the current law issued in 2005 by Ministry of Health.
As per the amendment, the Ministry proposed any advertisement on medicine carried out by businesses or ad companies must receive approval of the health authority and the law.
Before putting ads on media, businesses or distributors must sent its documents of ad content to related agencies for verification and they must obey verified ad content.
The Health Minister also regulates which agency is responsible for verifying procedures and ad content.
Moreover, the amendment specifies that prescribed drugs are not advertised in any form. Unprescribed medications are allowed to put on ads on public media; however, they must meet following requirements including its registered number in Vietnam being valid and active ingredients in the Ministry’s list.
The current Pharmaceutical Law 2005 has not regulated the content of ads verified by the authorities before launching ads on the media. The amendment is aiming to ensure that products and services are described truthfully and the public gets accurate information.
