The drug controller general of India (DCGI) has asked the Indian drug
company Piramal Healthcare to immediately withdraw advertisements on its
emergency contraceptive pills I-Pill which the company had recently
revived in the electronic media after a brief lull in utter disregard to
the drug regulatory authorities, as the union health ministry had
suspended advertisements on these products due to public criticism.
Sources
said that the DCGI, who is extremely annoyed over the revival of the
advertisements by the drug company in violation of the health ministry's
directive last year, has issued a strong notice asking the company to
immediately withdraw the ads which have been appearing in the
electronic media. DCGI Dr Surinder Singh is particularly annoyed over
the development as he had dropped action against three major pharma
companies, including Piramal Healthcare, last year for reviving ads, on
the plea that the companies will withdraw the ads on their own.
Since
all these companies have stopped advertisements on their own after the
DCGI's show-cause notice, the office of the DCGI has decided not to
initiate any action against them immediately. If the companies revive
the advertisements again before a final decision on the issue is taken
by the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), which is the highest
authority of health experts on technical matters under the union health
ministry, the DCGI will initiate immediate action, a senior official had
stated last year after dropping action against the erring companies,
including Piramal Healthcare. But, the revival of ads by Piramal has
reopened the issue, sources said.
Ever since the drug companies
launched advertisements on emergency contraceptive pills like Unwanted
72, Option-72 and I-Pill, experts and public interest groups in the
country have been raising concern that these advertisements may promote
the misuse of the pill by the young generation who have started looking
at the pills as a regular contraceptive method as the advertisements are
said to have failed to drive home the message clearly that these pills
are emergency contraceptives.
Apart from the civil society
organisations, gynaecologists in the country have also been expressing
concern on the misuse of the pill by the young generation. It triggered
a debate in sexually conservative India with critics arguing that the
easy availability of such pills would encourage promiscuity among the
millions of young people. There was also criticism that the easy
availability of these drugs will also promote unsafe sex among younger
generation and may result in promotion of diseases like HIV/AIDS in the
country.
I-Pill was actually promoted by Cipla Ltd, but in March, 2010 Piramal Healthcare had acquired I-Pill brand for Rs.95 crore from Cipla.