Medicines Act 1968

95 Powers to regulate advertisements and representations

(1) The appropriate Ministers may by regulations prohibit any one or more of the following, that is to say—

(a) the issue of advertisements relating to medicinal products of a description, or falling within a class, specified in the regulations;

(b) the issue of advertisements likely to lead to the use of any medicinal product, or any other substance or article, for the purpose of treating or preventing a disease specified in the regulations or for the purpose of diagnosis of a disease so specified or of ascertaining the existence, degree or extent of a physiological condition so specified or of permanently or temporarily preventing or otherwise interfering with the normal operation of a physiological function so specified, or for the purpose of artificially inducing a condition of body or mind so specified ;

(c) the issue of advertisements likely to lead to the use of medicinal products of a particular description or falling within a particular class specified in the regulations, or the use of any other substance or article of a description or class so specified, for any such purpose as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection ;

(d) the issue of advertisements relating to medicinal products and containing a word or phrase specified in the regulations, as being a word or phrase which, in the opinion of the appropriate Ministers, is likely to mislead the public as to the nature or effects of the products or as to any condition of body or mind in connection with which the products might be used.

(2) Where any regulations are made in accordance with paragraph (b), paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) of the preceding subsection, the regulations may prohibit the making of any representation likely to lead to the use of a medicinal product or other substance or article to which the regulations apply for a purpose specified in the regulations in accordance with paragraph (b) of that subsection, or containing a word or phrase specified in the regulations in accordance with paragraph (d) of that subsection, if the representation—

(a) is made in connection with the sale or supply, or offer for sale or supply, of a medicinal product or other substance or article to which the regulations apply, or

(b) is made to a person for the purpose of inducing him to purchase such a medicinal product, substance or article from a person selling by retail medicinal products or other substances or articles to which the regulations apply, or

(c) in the case of medicinal products of a description to which the regulations apply, is made to a practitioner for the purpose of inducing him to prescribe or supply medicinal products of that description or is made to a patient or client of a practitioner for the purpose of inducing him to request the practitioner to prescribe medicinal products of that description.

(3) Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the appropriate Ministers may by regulations impose such requirements as, for any of the purposes specified in the next following subsection, they consider necessary or expedient with respect to any one or more of the following matters, that is to say—

(a) the particulars which advertisements relating to medicinal products must contain ;

(b) the form of any such advertisements ; and

(c) in the case of advertisements by way of cinematograph films or television, the duration for which, and the manner in which, any part of such an advertisement which contains particulars of a description specified in the regulations must be exhibited;

and any such regulations may prohibit the use, in relation to medicinal products of a description specified in the regulations, of advertisements of any particular kind so specified.

(4) The purposes referred to in subsection (3) of this section are—

(a) securing that adequate information is given with respect to medicinal products;

(b) preventing the giving of misleading information with respect to such products ;

(c) promoting safety in relation to such products.

(5) Without prejudice to the application of section 129(5) of this Act, any prohibition imposed by regulations under this section may be a total prohibition or may be imposed subject to such exceptions as may be specified in the regulations.

(6) Any regulations made under this section may provide that any person who contravenes the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and—

(a) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400 or such lesser sum as may be specified in the regulations, and

(b) if the regulations so provide, shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

(7) Section 92(3) of this Act shall not have effect for the purposes of paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (1) of this section.