Promising Magical Cure for Chronic Diseases: Ayurveda practitioner faces medical council heat

 "He is a registered medical practitioner. He has been told in case of violation his name would be removed from the register,"-- stated Registrar of Travancore-Cochin Medical Council for Indian Systems of Medicines

Thiruvananthapuram:  The Travancore-Cochin Medical Council for Indian Systems of Medicines recently issued a warning to an Ayurveda practitioner for placing advertisements on ‘magical’ ayurvedic remedies in newspapers, reminding him that such claims fall under violation of medical ethics.

These advertisements which were released in certain Malayalam dailies claimed that certain ayurvedic medicines can magically cure chronic ailments such as cancer

According to a recent media account, the advertisements, which were first challenged by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad, which approached the Drugs Controller (Ayurveda) against the advertisements stating that such advertisements clearly amount to Cheating

“The practice of fleecing unsuspecting people should be banned, the Parishad emphasized

Based on the complaint, the Deputy Drugs Controller, Kollam launched a probe which revealed that the said 'magic medicine' that was prescribed by the concerned Ayurveda practitioner K Sidharthan for ailments like cancer, diabetes and thyroid was in fact, 'kaivalya thylam', which was classified in the records under patent and proprietary drugs.

“However, an attempt to trace the supporting clinical trial documents mandatory for the drugs controller proved futile. The drug, according to records, had found a place in the privileged category list in 2000. There was no supporting evidence available for corroborating its quality,” the Parishad said in its complaint to the SHRC, reports TOI

In its report, the Deputy Drugs Controller pointed out that the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Drugs and Magical Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act cannot be evoked against the doctor as the provisions will attract action only if someone makes public claims about the magical properties of a particular drug. In this case, the doctor just makes claims and does not mention the name of the drug, the report added.

However, the said activities of the Ayurveda practitioner have brought him under the fire of the Travancore-Cochin Medical Council for Indian Systems of Medicines, which has now issued a warning to him directing him to stop with such advertisements

Informing State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) about the said issue, the Council’s Registrar said, “K Sidharthan has been asked to stop placing advertisements on magical ayurvedic remedies in the print media. He was summoned before the council and was warned against giving such advertisements, violating medical ethics.”

“He is a registered medical practitioner. He has been told in case of violation his name would be removed from the register,” the Registrar added.

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