3 min readNew DelhiOct 6, 2009 08:11 AM IST
First published on: Oct 6, 2009 at 08:11 AM IST
The Drug Controller General of India DCGI said on Monday that a committee will be set up to examine whether Unwanted 72 and i-pill,two morning-after contraceptive pills,now sold over the counter,should be reclassified as prescription drugs. Unwanted 72 is made by Mankind Pharma,Cipla manufactures the i-pill.
This comes after the DCGI sent a letter to the two manufacturers last month pulling them up for running TV ads it claimed were misrepresenting abortion and pushing the pills as a way to be tension-free after sex.
As per norms,if these two pills are categorised as prescription drugs,they cannot be advertised.
Speaking to The Indian Express,Surinder Singh,Drug Controller General of India,said today that the Drug Technical Advisory Board will meet on November 9 on the issue.
We will go by the DTABs decision. A committee may be set up to research and speak to the companies. This will help us understand whether we should revise the ads or whether these OTC drugs be made prescription drugs. It may take two to three months to look at the subject in totality, Singh said.
Singh claimed the ads do not emphasize that the pills are only for emergency use,show abortion in a bad light and do not mention the side effects of the pills. Even a mutual fund ad,in a short span of time on air,will ask you to read the fine print. But these ads do not focus on the side effects, Singh said.
Contesting this,Amar Lulla,Joint Managing Director,Cipla,said that each i-pill pack comes with a booklet that lists the side effects. And it clearly mentions that its an emergency pill. Asked about the DCGIs complaint that the ads pushed tension-free sex, Lulla said that the pill was a womans way to choose and prevent the trauma of an abortion.
We will accept the guidelines but the government should also participate in educating people. The government is on record that emergency contraceptives should be publicized, said Lulla.
A spokesman from Mankind Pharma,when contacted after the DCGI letter was sent last month,said: We have shown a married couple. The product is such that we cannot not talk about sex. The use of tension free, is relevant especially for a woman who is unsure of whether she is pregnant…she goes through a traumatic phase.
He added: We will do whatever the government asks us. If they provide guidelines,we will follow those for the advertisements.
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