Dr. Babu KV, a 59-year-old ophthalmologist from Kannur who has been practicing medicine for 25 years, has been facing various central government complaints since February 2022 over alleged illegal advertising of Divya Pharmacy, a manufacturing unit owned by Patanjali. and has written to the Uttarakhand government authorities. Ayurveda Ltd., Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
He told ThePrint that he had been paying attention to Patanjali’s ads since 2019, when he noticed ads for eye drops that claimed to be effective in treating cataracts, glaucoma and certain other diseases. As an ophthalmologist, he says he knew that not a single drop could have any effect on all these diseases.he then tagged The Advertising Standards Council of India (now X) protested the ad on Twitter, but “nothing happened”.
note that @ascionline . They claim it helps treat “double vision, color vision.” This is misleading advertising. Why do we need to treat color vision? How can we treat double vision with IV drips!!
— Dr. Babu (@drbabukv) March 3, 2021
However, in February 2022, hinduism It caught his eye. Advertisements for this Patanjali product claimed to prevent “heart problems and blood pressure” by “reducing cholesterol in a week.” He took the initiative to write a letter to the Narcotics Controller General of India VG Somani (DCGI). Thus began his journey.
His weapon is Section 3(d) of the Drugs and Magical Remedies (Offensive Advertisement) Act 1954, which states that “preventing or treating” 54 Scheduled diseases. Advertising of pharmaceutical products that make such claims is prohibited.this It contains Cancer, cataracts, diabetes, obesity, lupus, tumors, heart disease, etc.
ThePrint reached out to Patanjali spokesperson SK Tijarawala via phone and text message for comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.
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the beginning of everything
Babu’s letter to the DGCI states that advertisements related to several products of Patanjali, including Divya Lipidom Tablets, Divya Ribogrit, Divya Rivamrit Advanced Tablets, Divya Madhunasini Vati, Divya Madhugrit Tablets, have come under the scanner. I was there. Thereafter, he filed his RTI application with the DCGI to know the status of his complaint.
Through several subsequent RTI filings, he revealed that his complaint was forwarded to the Union Ayush Ministry, from which correspondence was sent to the office of the Licensing Officer of Ayurveda and Unani Services, Uttarakhand. Knew.
Subsequently, in April 2022, the Uttarakhand licensing authority wrote to Mr. Patanjali, directing him to immediately remove such misleading advertisements, and in case such media activities were carried out without permission, the license authority would be suspended. I warned that it would be cancelled.
In May 2022, Divya Pharmacy responded that the medicines were manufactured under a license issued by the Ministry of Ayush. It further pointed out that Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, which was inserted through an amendment passed in December 2018, was stayed by the Bombay High Court in February 2019.
rule Ban Ayurvedic medicine promotion If you do not have permission from the competent licensing authority. The court further It directed the authorities not to take any coercive action against the members of Ayurvedic Medicines Manufacturers Association, the petitioning organization.
The company argued that no enforcement action should be taken against it as it is a member of the Ayurvedic Medicines Manufacturers Association. However, Divya Pharmacy took note of the notice and added that it has stopped publishing the advertisements mentioned therein.
“I thought this would be the end of the problem,” Babu told ThePrint.
“Misunderstandings caused by allopathy”
But in July 2022, he saw another ad. chennai times, titled “Misunderstandings Spread by Allopathy.” This was a “turning point” for him.
The ad says, “For a permanent solution to lifestyle-related, incurable, chronic and genetic diseases, register for a week-long residential therapy at Patanjali Wellness and achieve eternal health. ” was advertised.
“It was shocking to me,” Babb said.
The advertisement also claimed that Patanjali’s product cures type 1 diabetes, which also caused doctors to become “aggressive” over complaints and RTIs.
“This was a really serious public health problem, but no one did anything about it,” he told ThePrint. Since then, he has been lobbying the Uttarakhand licensing authority, the Union Ayush Ministry and even the Press Council of India to stop such misleading advertisements.
On November 9, 2022, the Uttarakhand Ayurveda Unani Services Licensing Authority (UAUSLA) asked Divya Pharmacy to stop manufacturing five medicines for diabetes, blood pressure, goiter, glaucoma and high cholesterol. Mr. Babu’s efforts bore fruit.
Five drugs were advertised as treatments for these diseases: Bpgrit, Madhugrit, Thyrogrit, Lipidom tablets, and Eyegrit Gold tablets.
The subject line of the communication, seen by ThePrint, reads, “Repeated violation of Drugs and Magical Remedies (Offensive Advertisement) Act, 1954 and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Regulations, 1945 by Divya Pharmacy Haridwar.” Ta.
It then asked Patanjali to remove all advertisements for these products. In response, Dr. Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Ayurveda said, tweeted: “Information received from the media clearly indicates that anti-Ayurvedic drug mafia is involved in this. We will not allow this conspiracy to succeed in any way.”
Log in to add translation तो व Media Media Media Media Media Media Media Media Media Log in to add a translation to add pic.twitter.com/6XgMByWXdG
— Acharya Balkrishna (@Ach_Balkrishna) November 10, 2022
Within days, the order was rescinded, with UAUSLA licensing officer CGS Jangpangi calling it “a mistake.”
On June 18 last year, Babu sent an email to Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal mentioning two advertisements from Patanjali. One of them is Malayala Manorama June 17th and carried by another person. Mathrubhumi June 18th. The ads promote drugs to treat diabetes (Madhugrit), obesity (Medhar Vati) and heart disease (Cardiogrit), all of which are banned under a 1954 law, according to emails seen by ThePrint. There is.
“While Divya Pharmacy continues to advertise, it is clear that there is no visible step from the Uttarakhand Licensing Authority to stop such advertisements… It is truly shocking… We cannot stop this illegal advertisement for a second. I request that you intervene urgently to stop this as soon as possible,” he added.
“53 misleading ads in 8 months”
In his campaign against Patanjali’s advertisements, Babu received support from MPs along the way. In November 2022, MP Karthi P. Chidambaram also wrote to Sonowal, requesting action against misleading advertisements of Ayurvedic medicines by Patanjali.
In a reply dated February 14, 2023, seen by ThePrint, Sonowal told Chidambaram that “the matter has been considered” and that “the State Licensing Authority of Uttarakhand has made the appropriate decision from the drugs and witchcraft perspective”. We have been directed to take appropriate action.” Relief Act 1954 (Offensive Advertising)”. According to the communication, the Uttarakhand Licensing Department was given this direction on February 10, 2023.
And in March last year, Dr. V. Sivadasan, a Rajya Sabha member from Kannur, told Ayush Minister, “The government has banned five drugs: Divya Madhugrit, Divya Aigrit Gold, and Divya Thyrogrit.” Do you recognize it?” he asked. , Domestic Divya BPgrit and Divya Lipidom”.
In response, Mr. Sonowal said that each state and Union Territory has provisions under Section 170 of the Drugs and Magical Remedies (Offensive Advertisements) Act, 1954 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, which relate to the control and prohibition of misleading advertisements. He replied that he had the authority to enforce the regulations. Drug advertising or exaggerated claims.
As a result of the responses, “misleading advertisements” regarding Patanjali drugs have been reported in the past eight months by BPgrit (18), Madhugrit (15), Eyegrit Gold (10), Thyrogrit (3), and Lipidom (7). It was revealed that there were 53 cases regarding These cases were reported by peripheral drug monitoring centres.
“In 2022, the Ministry of Ayush will remove advertisements of Divya Madhugrit, Divya Lipidom, Divya Aigrit Gold and Divya BP Grit from Uttarakhand Ayurveda & Unani Services for investigation with a view to withdrawing the advertisements. ,” the reply added.
Another hurdle in Babu’s fight is that the Bombay High Court has ruled that the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 was inserted through an amendment in December 2018 to regulate and prohibit misleading advertisements and exaggerated claims about drugs. Rule 170 of the Rules was suspended.
In fact, in the Uttarakhand Licensing Authority communication of 2022, it was conveyed to the Ayush Ministry that Divya Pharmacy was relying on the continuation of Rule 170 through various communications. This is why the authorities could not take further action against the company’s manufacture of these medicines, it said.
However, the Ayush Ministry said that although the High Court has upheld Rule 170, including in a communication in February last year, the 1954 Act has not been challenged and it is still investigating such advertisements. revealed that it can be used to take countermeasures.
sought PMO intervention
In January this year, Babu had written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) saying, “Divya Pharmacy has repeatedly violated the Narcotic Drugs and Magical Therapy Act, 1954, but even the Ayush GOI Ministry and Uttarakhand Ayurveda Services Director-General have come under clear scrutiny.” He sent a letter claiming that he has not taken any action that makes it appear that he is. After repeated communication. ”
In this interaction, obtained by ThePrint, he pointed out that his complaint for violation of the 1954 Act was pending with DCGI, Union Ministry of Ayush and Uttarakhand Licensing Department since February 24, 2022. He demanded PMO intervention. “Give appropriate directions to the Union Ayush Minister to bring an end to the continued violation of the DMR (OA) Act, 1954 by Divya Pharmacy.”
The PMO was quick, he says. Within a few days, his complaint was forwarded to the Ayush Ministry, which in turn sent the communication to the head of Ayurveda Unani Services in Uttarakhand. “This subject falls under the purview of the State Licensing Authority, Uttarakhand, as it pertains to the continued violation of the Drugs and Magical Therapy (Offensive Advertisement) Act, 1954 by Divya Pharmacy,” the letter said. It was dark. Therefore, we request that this matter be examined closely and that necessary measures be taken as necessary. ”
Babu told ThePrint that, according to an RTI response received in response to a letter to the PMO, the Uttarakhand licensing authority had conducted an on-site inspection of Divya Pharmacy earlier this year and had ordered drugs to investigate the matter. He said he had appointed an inspector. However, he said similar orders had been issued in the past, but “according to my information, no further action was taken.”
This is “a ploy used as a delaying tactic to prolong the issue further,” he says.
Finally, last month, a bench comprising Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Asanuddin Amanullah slammed Patanjali for misleading advertisements. It pointed out that the company continued to run such advertisements despite promising the Supreme Court in November last year that it would not run any misleading advertisements.
Admitting that Patanjali, by continuing its tactics, has prima facie breached the promises it made in court in November, the court has ordered Patanjali Ayurveda and its managing director Balkrishna to proceed against them for contempt of court. A notice of cause that should not be raised was also issued. .
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