The Kerala Drug Control Department has approached the Union Health Ministry to strengthen the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954 to effectively regulate marketing of large number of food supplements and health products by certain international marketing companies in the country.

The Kerala Drug Department had alerted the health ministry earlier also when these products started entering Indian market through direct marketing route. Most of the products and devices marketed by these companies are clinically unapproved with false and exaggerated curative claims.

There are more than a dozen international marketing companies like Amway, Cornybio Health Care, 4Life Research USA and others registered in the country selling mostly food supplements and nutritional products directly to the consumers. Besides these, 100 other small and medium scale companies are also engaged in the healthcare sector in the name of dietary supplements.

Seeing the instant success of these marketing companies in a span of 3 to 4 years with no restriction on their marketing practices, more companies are approaching the government to start their operations. Five new companies which have approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for setting up their 100 percent subsidiaries in India are XanGO Llc, Nu Skin Enterprises, Usana Health Sciences Inc, Lifestyles International Holdings Corp and Vemma Nutrition Co.

These companies obtain permission to operate from the authorities on the pretext of nutritional and healthcare products but they push the products under false claims of curing several diseases. Apart from health supplements, a wide range of products such as belts, electronic devices, magnetic bed, precious stone ornaments, snake stones, etc. are also being pushed in the market claiming to cure diseases from cancer, obesity to infertility. While the companies make medical claims, most of them are without any scientific base and are marketed at exorbitant prices by exploiting the relations and misusing the official powers.

The modus operandi of marketing of these products is without any kind of visual or printed advertisements. The products are promoted directly by executives and are not available any of the retail outlets. Such marketing practices make it impossible for food and drug authorities to seize the products for their therapeutic claims.

The products are distributed through a marketing network under which an independent distributor recruits people to buy the products and also to recruit more people who can fetch them commissions.

The provisions of Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, allow the authorities to act on the basis of misleading visual or print advertisements. Since the marketing of these products does not involve any advertisement, the authorities are helpless. "Under the DMR Act, we can initiate action against any articles or objects, but only on specific written complaints", a senior drug department official here said.

Meanwhile, a proposal to amend the Drugs & Magic Remedies Act to widen its scope empowering the drug department to initiate action has literally been shelved by the Union Health ministry.