Govt proposes 5-year jail term & ₹50 lakh fine for for Ads promoting fair skin

February 7: The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has proposed the draft amendment to the Drugs and magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements Act, 1954), with a stringent punishment of a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to ₹50 lakh for advertisements for magic remedies and drugs promoting fair skin, enhancing sexual performance, stammering, infertility in women, premature ageing and greying, increasing brain capacity among others.

As a nation, India has a problem with ‘colour of the skin’, where we are constantly tormented by fairness ads and products that promise to make us more ‘attractive’ (read whiter) with absolutely no medical or scientific backing. After years of obsessing over ‘fair’ skin, it looks like India is finally ready to forgo the stereotypes and take a step in the positive direction.

The draft amendment has made several additions to the list of diseases, disorders, conditions covered in the Act. The Act says that medicines, “magic remedies” and products to cure any of these 78 diseases, disorders, conditions named should not be advertised. The draft has expanded the definition of an advertisement to cover those shown in electronic media, social media, and websites.

The new additions include ads for drugs or treatment for enhancing sexual performance, sexual impotence, premature ejaculation and spermatorrhoea, fairness of skin, premature ageing, AIDS, improvement of memory, improvement in height of kids/adults, improvement in size of sexual organ, duration of sexual performance, premature graying of hair, stammering, sterility in women, disorders of menstrual flow hysteria, power to rejuvenate, obesity, maintenance or improvement of the capacity of the human being for sexual pleasure, improvement in size and shape of the sexual organ and in duration of sexual performance, insanity, increase in brain capacity and improvement of memory and improvement in height of children/adults.

The draft of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 also proposes a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh and up to two years’ imprisonment in the case of first offence. And in the case of a subsequent conviction, imprisonment may extend to five years and the fine, up to Rs 50 lakh.