Miracle Cure Advertisement: Medical Council told to take action against Ayurveda Practitioner

Thiruvananthapuram: An Ayurveda practitioner has now fallen under the radar of the state medical council on account of various advertisements in  newspaper claiming miracle remedies for various illnesses. The Travancore Cochin Medical Council (TCMC) and the state drugs controller have been directed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to take strict action against him.

According to media reports, the Ayurveda practitioner had allegedly published advertisements for his ‘tullimarunnu chikilsa’ (oral drops treatment) where he claimed miracle remedies for diabetes, cancer, obesity, asthma, ulcer, thyroid and various other diseases

The same stands in clear violation of the Drugs and Magical Remedies Act, An act to control the advertisements of drugs in certain cases, to prohibit the advertisement for certain purposes of remedies alleged to possess magic qualities and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Section-3 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act makes it clear that “no person shall take part in the publication of any advertisement referring to any drug in terms which suggest or are calculated to lead to the use of that drug for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease specified in the Schedule or any other disease which may be specified in the rules made under this Act.”

With the advertisements coming to light Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad filed a complaint with the state medical council, that regulates both modern medicine and ISM practitioners, in this regard.

Read Also: Violation of Medical Ethics: Doctors warned for getting featured in unethical advertisements in Kerala

Justice Antony Dominic, Chairperson, State Human Rights Commission, told the TOI, "The TCMC should take appropriate action against the Ayurveda practitioner and the action taken report should be submitted before the commission before June 15. The drugs controller should also submit the report on what kind of action can be taken against the accused."

The commission pointed out that there are 54 kinds of diseases mentioned in the Schedule for which advertisements of cure can be published. But the Ayurveda practitioner advertised for the diseases not mentioned in the Schedule.