China Medical News

China's top broadcast watchdog announced on August 26^th that it will tighten regulation over health and medical related TV programs and advertising. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) recently issued a circular stating that such programs could only be produced by TV station personnel. Such programs will also be required to be reviewed and recorded. Programs made by private companies will not be allowed on air, the circular said. SARFT also banned advertisements during such programs. Experts on medical or health programs must have relevant qualifications issued by health authorities. The circular also imposed limits on the length and form of medical advertisements. Each advertisement should not exceed one minute, with advertisements disguised as TV programs strictly prohibited, it said.

Also, China will intensify efforts to regulate online commercials following public ire over deceptive online advertising. According to the vice head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), a temporary regulation will take effect on Sept. 1, requiring publishers to clearly mark all online commercials as advertisements to warn netizens.
A college student died in April after he followed allegedly deceptive information promoted by search engine Baidu and signed up for medical treatment at a Beijing hospital. The upcoming regulation makes it clear that paid promotion of information on search engines is classed as advertising.
According to the SAIC, a department tasked with monitoring online commercials will also be established. From September 2015 to August 2016, the SAIC and other market regulators discovered around 3,200 cases of unlawful online advertising. (Source: Xinhua)