The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in the Central Region has hinted on a challenging situation it has consistently encountered in the Ghanaian media space in its bid to promote public health and prevent misleading information regarding product advertisements.
According to the FDA, their advertising requirements frowns on the advertising of products by way of a Live Presenter’s Mentioning, widely known in the media fraternity as LPM.
In view of this, the Authority has implored media personalities in the country to desist from the aforementioned practice which is commonly identified within the fraternity.
The food regulatory authority has further warned against the advertisement of drugs, herbal medicinal products, cosmetics, medical devices, and household chemical substances for disease treatment to the general public, as prohibited by Section 114 of Ghana’s Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851).
The Authority made this clarification during a stakeholders engagement held on Tuesday at the FDA’s Regional Head Office in Cape Coast.
Ms. Francisca Anokye, the FDA Central Regional Director, admonished that the engagement sort to heighten the media’s knowledge on unapproved FDA products as well as the authorized manner of advertising products within the media space.
Emphasizing that the meeting equally endeavored to foster lasting relationship with the media within the Region.
She notified regulated product owners and presenters to eschew all forms of unapproved advertisment on products and stick to the script to which a product was approved, and not resort to Live Presenter’s Mentioning (LPM), which bares the tendency that a presenter can be emotionally induced to pass unsanctioned remarks on a product.
In addition, the FDA Director cautioned media men on the use of LPM’s in advertising products, since the Ghana Public Health Act frowns on it. Highlighting that media personalities who flouts the directive stands to face the law when found culpable.
However, stipulated sanctions indicates that a person who contravenes Section 97 to 108, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one thousand penalty units, and not more than seven thousand five hundred penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than four years and not more than fifteen years or to both.
