13 AYUSH doctors appointed to take action against misleading ads

Vijayawada: As many as 13 government AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) doctors have been appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government to take action against misleading advertisements related to traditional medicine.  

The decision, announced by Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar Yadav, aims to curb false medical claims under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

Minister Yadav asked the 13 doctors to take action against any person found involved in publishing or preparing the content, as per the Act. He also instructed the police officers to register the complaints without delay.

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Until now, only one official was responsible for monitoring such ads across the state. With this new step, each of the 13 selected doctors will be assigned to each district. 

The move comes after the Supreme Court took serious note of false medical claims and called for a redressal mechanism in all States. Following the apex court order, the Minister selected the Ayush doctors, intending to improve the surveillance on fake advertisements in the field of traditional medicines.

With regard to fake claims in the field of allopathic medicine, the State government had already instructed all drug inspectors to keep a watch on advertisements. At present, 49 drug inspectors are working in the State, keeping a tab on misleading claims regarding the use of allopathic medicines.

The Hindu has reported that the Act prohibits publishing of any such advertisement that promotes certain drugs to prevent miscarriages or conception in women or that claims to improve the capacity of human beings for sexual pleasure or correction of menstrual disorders in women. Under the Act, there is a provision for a punishment of up to six years or a fine or both.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the 2025 update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which is a significant milestone for the global recognition of traditional medicine.

The update introduces a pioneering new module dedicated to traditional medicine conditions, marking a monumental step in the systematic tracking and global integration of traditional systems of healthcare practices related to Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani.

This update follows the successful year-long testing and deliberations after the launch of ICD-11 TM-2 (on January 10, 2024, in New Delhi) for Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani systems of medicine for country implementation testing. It culminates in the deliberations held at the WHO meeting at the National Institute of Health in Malaysia in November 2024. The ICD-11 TM 2 module is now officially released on the ICD-11 Blue Browser of WHO.

Also read- WHO's 2025 ICD-11 update includes traditional medicine in health module