Major Regulations related to Medication Commercials under Turkish Law
Legal Rules regarding the Commercials of Medication in Turkish Legal System
In Turkish Legal system there does not exist any specific legislation regarding the commercials of medications. However there are major legislations that regulate commercials generally which include some rules regarding the commercials of medication as mentioned herein below;
The Law No.6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Media Services:
Commercial communication of particular products
ARTICLE 11 –
(2) Commercial communication for medicinal products and medical treatments available only on prescription shall not be allowed.
(3) Advertisements for the medicinal products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription shall be prepared within the principle of honesty and in such a manner that they will comprise elements reflecting the truth and being subject to verification.
(4) Teleshopping for medicinal products and medical treatments shall not be allowed.
The By- Law on the Procedures and Principles of Media Services:
Commercial communication of particular products
ARTICLE 12 –
(1) The rules to be complied with in the (Amended phrase OG- 3/4/2014) commercial communications of below mentioned products are as follows:
a) Commercial communication for alcohol and tobacco products shall not be allowed under any circumstances
b) Commercial communication for medicinal products and medical treatments available only on prescription shall not be allowed.
c) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014) Advertisements for the medicinal products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription shall be prepared within the principle of honesty and in such a manner that they will comprise elements reflecting the truth and being subject to verification. In this respect, the list which is annually prepared and published by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the provisions of the By-law promulgated with Official Gazette No.25730 dated 17/02/2005 on the Classification of the Medical Products Intended for Human Use is taken into consideration as the basis. In the advertisements for the medical products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription; the statement about the authorisation of sale without prescription and the substance shall be displayed in visible and readable text in the screen, and shall be made in radio broadcasting by acoustic mean
(ç) Teleshopping for medicinal products and medical treatments shall not be allowed.
According to The By-Law on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices that the commercials can not contain any statements or visuals that might exploit the patients, children, elders and disabled, and can not contain any statements or visuals of the patients before and after their treatment and also can not contain any statements or visuals of illnesses, injuries or similar things which might cause the society to worry or mislead them.
In addition, again according to the same legislation, “The advertisements cannot include any visual, statement or reference or give any impression regarding doctors, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists and also health institutions providing health statements directed to any product or service.”
As per Article 12 of The By- Law on the Procedures and Principles of Media Services mentioned above, “In the advertisements for the medical products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription; the statement about the authorisation of sale without prescription and the substance shall be displayed in visible and readable text in the screen, and shall be made in radio broadcasting by acoustic mean”.
In addition, the statement saying “people should consult either their doctors or pharmacists before having the vaccination and the vaccination shall be done by authorised health officers in accordance with its prospectus” shall be placed either within the main commercial or as a subtitle of that commercial.
If this statement will be placed as a subtitle, then in accordance with the articles of the By-Law on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices, the calculation of the duration of the subtitle in the screen shall be done as 0.25 seconds per word (4 words per second). If the subtitle contains 9 or less words, then 3 seconds should be added to the total time as recognition and perception time; if it contains between 10 and 20 words, then 4 seconds should be added, if it contains between 21 and 50 words, then 6 seconds should be added, if it contains between 51 and 100 words, then 8 seconds should be added, and if it contains more than 100 words 10 seconds should be added to the total time.
Therefore all the commercials regarding medications shall only be communicated in accordance with those rules and are subject to those rules.
Av.Özgür Kurucuk
WiklundKurucuk Law Firm
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