China's watchdogs exposed eight local television stations on
Monday for broadcasting adverts for illegal drugs over the
nationwide satellite network.
China's State Industry and Commerce Administration and State
Food and Drug Administration published a blacklist that included
television stations of Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and
Hebei provinces, Tianjin Municipality and the Inner Mongolia and
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regions.
According to the report, the television stations broadcasted
adverts for prescription drugs, which exaggerated the effects of
certain drugs or used celebrities to guarantee a drug's
effectiveness.
The illegal adverts also included health foods that were
advertised as medicines without permission from the
authorities.
The State Industry and Commerce Administration called on local
departments to strengthen supervision of advertisements broadcast
by local television stations and punish the offending
advertisers.
The State Food and Drug Administration ordered its local
branches to carry out more inspections of local drug and health
food producers.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2007)