The Ghana Food and Drugs Board says it is concerned about the “disturbing manner in which some advertisers and radio presenters air advertisement of regulated products, especially alcoholic beverages, on the airwaves”.
Going beyond mere concern, the Board has warned that it would not take kindly to anyone found flouting directives contained in Sections 14 and 15 of PNDC Law 305B.
It went further, warning radio presenters that they risked prosecution when caught flouting the law; in other words, when they are heard advertising regulated products on air.
The Times has always been attracted by what we have come to describe as the vituperations of the Board. We have never been impressed by its bark.
The reason for our disenchantment with its once-a-while loud and aggressive onslaught against manufacturers and importers of traditional and alternative medicine and against radio presenters is that it has always remained what it is – a bark, without a bite.
What happened when a year or so ago, the Board issued a statement forbidding the radio stations from broadcasting some advertisements paid for by the drug manufacturers and importers? It lost the case, which was tried in the court of public opinion. Why? Because it was found out that those advertisements had been approved by the board.
With its tail between its legs, what the board, licking its wounds in defeat, should have done was to find out who authorized those advertisements.
The fear we have is that with the resumption of all the noise and warnings, it may proceed again into the arena only to be defeated. Has the board done its home-work? Are they sure that the advertisements they are complaining against have not been vetted and approved by their own officers?
To put the fear of God in the offending sections of the public, the board’s best weapon now will be prosecution – that is, if it will dare! All that it needs is the prosecution of one or two high profile radio (or television) personalities, and reported with all the attendant media the cases can generate.
Like libel cases, the offending party is not just the media house but the originator of the offence. Prosecution of radio announcers and presenters cannot be complete without prosecution the companies that send the advertisements for broadcast. In that community, also, there are huge fishes.
If the Food and Drugs Board can publicly and loudly prove that these so-called big companies have no right to sell what they are advertising, half its battle would have been won.
But we doubt if the prosecutions will ever take place. Our information is that some of these companies are (jointly) owned by some big men at Food and Drugs Board. We are daring FDB to prove us wrong by going to court with the offending companies.
The Board also has some explaining to do as to why it is allowing some companies to advertise that they have hope for cancer patients. Can the Board claim it has not heard these claims on air?
Meanwhile, the board needs a media sensitization programme. Its public relations must go into action.
The health of the 25 or so million Ghanaians depends on an effective Food and Drugs Board. Ghana should not be the only country where anybody comes out with an “invention” in the name of herbal medicine, and goes straight onto the market without any clinical tests.
Are we safe?
Going beyond mere concern, the Board has warned that it would not take kindly to anyone found flouting directives contained in Sections 14 and 15 of PNDC Law 305B.
It went further, warning radio presenters that they risked prosecution when caught flouting the law; in other words, when they are heard advertising regulated products on air.
The Times has always been attracted by what we have come to describe as the vituperations of the Board. We have never been impressed by its bark.
The reason for our disenchantment with its once-a-while loud and aggressive onslaught against manufacturers and importers of traditional and alternative medicine and against radio presenters is that it has always remained what it is – a bark, without a bite.
What happened when a year or so ago, the Board issued a statement forbidding the radio stations from broadcasting some advertisements paid for by the drug manufacturers and importers? It lost the case, which was tried in the court of public opinion. Why? Because it was found out that those advertisements had been approved by the board.
With its tail between its legs, what the board, licking its wounds in defeat, should have done was to find out who authorized those advertisements.
The fear we have is that with the resumption of all the noise and warnings, it may proceed again into the arena only to be defeated. Has the board done its home-work? Are they sure that the advertisements they are complaining against have not been vetted and approved by their own officers?
To put the fear of God in the offending sections of the public, the board’s best weapon now will be prosecution – that is, if it will dare! All that it needs is the prosecution of one or two high profile radio (or television) personalities, and reported with all the attendant media the cases can generate.
Like libel cases, the offending party is not just the media house but the originator of the offence. Prosecution of radio announcers and presenters cannot be complete without prosecution the companies that send the advertisements for broadcast. In that community, also, there are huge fishes.
If the Food and Drugs Board can publicly and loudly prove that these so-called big companies have no right to sell what they are advertising, half its battle would have been won.
But we doubt if the prosecutions will ever take place. Our information is that some of these companies are (jointly) owned by some big men at Food and Drugs Board. We are daring FDB to prove us wrong by going to court with the offending companies.
The Board also has some explaining to do as to why it is allowing some companies to advertise that they have hope for cancer patients. Can the Board claim it has not heard these claims on air?
Meanwhile, the board needs a media sensitization programme. Its public relations must go into action.
The health of the 25 or so million Ghanaians depends on an effective Food and Drugs Board. Ghana should not be the only country where anybody comes out with an “invention” in the name of herbal medicine, and goes straight onto the market without any clinical tests.
Are we safe?
