HUL gets DCGI notice over misleading Immunity Boosting Hand Sanitizer ad to prevent COVID-19
New Delhi: Taking into account the violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945; the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), V G Somani has issued a show-cause notice to Hindustan Unilever Limited over the "misleading" advertisement of Lifebuoy Immunity Boosting Hand Sanitizer, claiming to prevent COVID-19.
In the ad, the company claimed that Lifebuoy immunity-boosting hand sanitizer improves immunity which in turn leads to COVID-19 prevention.
According to DCGI, while the Hand Sanitizer under scanner was licensed as a cosmetic under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, it was being advertised as a drug, which is a violation of the law.
In this view, the drug controller sought why action should not be taken against the company for the said violation.
Giving an in-depth clarification on the definition of immunity, DCGI highlighted that Section 3(b). of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 says, that immunity is a condition of being able to resist a particular disease especially through preventing the development of a pathogenic microorganism or by counteracting the effects of its products, adding that HUL's claim attracts the given definition.
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