Docs demand action against quacks

MUMBAI, Oct 2: In a city where more and more people, qualified or otherwise, are offering miracle cures for all diseases ranging from baldness to depression, an anti-quackery cell is the real8217; doctors8217; prescription. The General Practitioners8217; Association-Greater Bombay GPA-GB put forth this suggestion at a press conference on the occasion of Anti-Quackery Day on Friday, and stressed that only such a cell could check the proliferation of quacks, whose numbers are peaking at around 18,000.

Dr Satish Naik said pre-practice registration at local bodies should be made compulsory for doctors. A stringent anti-quackery law would also go a long way in curbing the menace, he added. As of now, there is no separate law to deal with quackery. Quacks are booked under certain sections of the Indian Penal Code like Section 420. The fine imposed is also negligible, added Dr Naik.

The GPA-GB also demanded that 8220;All claims of a magical cure should be evaluated by a body of scientists before it is allowed to gopublic.8221; This would ensure that quacks don8217;t play around with lives, observed Dr Naik.

Besides, while qualified doctors were banned from advertising, quacks made use of every opportunity to publicise their services. 8220;All such advertising should be banned,8221; the association demanded. The ban should be extended to institutions conferring dubious medical degrees, it further said. With the Delhi government tabling a bill on Wednesday to prohibit quackery, Mumbai should also follow suit, felt association members. They will submit a memorandum to the Health Minister and hold a dharna on October 7.