Some lawmakers in China have proposed a ban on advertising by drug firms and hospitals due to increasing false and exaggerated claims for their products. Delegates to the recent national congress in Beijing suggested that drugs should not be advertised on television or in newspapers, the South China Morning Post reported Friday. A State Food and Drug Administration study found that more than 60 percent of drug advertisements last year violated legal standards of truthfulness. Current laws ban advertisers from making unscientific, categorical assertions or guarantees of a drug’s function, and from using experts, scholars, physicians or patients in support of products. Drug companies take from 20 to 60 percent of advertising slots on television stations, and their withdrawal would seriously affect broadcasters’ revenues, the report said. Nielsen Media Research said advertising spending by tonic and vitamin companies amounted to $2.6 billion last year, while medical treatment providers and hospitals spent $2.7 billion. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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