Statutory Instruments
1996 No. 1552

MEDICINES
The Medicines (Advertising) Amendment Regulations 1996

Made
11th June 1996

Laid before Parliament
20th June 1996

Coming into force
12th July 1996

The Secretaries of State respectively concerned with health in England, in Wales and in Scotland, and the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland, acting jointly, in exercise of powers conferred by sections 95(1)(b) and 129(5) of the Medicines Act 1968(1) and now vested in them(2), and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, after consulting such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests likely to be substantially affected by these Regulations(3) and after consulting and taking into account the advice of the Medicines Commission(4), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Medicines (Advertising) Amendment Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 12th July 1996.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994(5).

Amendment of regulation 6 of and Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations

2.—(1) For regulation 6 paragraph (2) of the principal Regulations (prohibition of advertisements referring to specified diseases), there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be taken to prohibit a person from issuing an advertisement which is likely to lead to the use of a relevant medicinal product—

(a)for the purpose of the prevention of neural tube defects; or

(b)for the purpose of the treatment of

(i)the symptoms of sprains or strains, or

(ii)the pain or stiffness of rheumatic or non-serious arthritic conditions.”.

(2) In Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (diseases in respect of which advertisements to the public are prohibited), after the entry “Genetic disorders” there shall be inserted the entry “Joint, rheumatic and collagen diseases”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Gerald Malone
Minister of State,
Department of Health
7th June 1996

William Hague
Secretary of State for Wales
7th June 1996

James Douglas Hamilton
Minister of State, The Scottish Office
11th June 1996

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on

L.S.
F A Elliott
Permanent Secretary
10th June 1996.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations concern the advertising of medicinal products for human use and amend the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994.
They exempt any medicinal product for the treatment of the symptoms of sprains or strains or the pain or stiffness of rheumatic and non-serious arthritic conditions from the general prohibition against advertisements of medicinal products referring to specified diseases (regulation 2(1)); and add joint, rheumatic and collagen diseases to the diseases subject to the prohibition on advertisements (regulation 2(2)).


(1)
1968 c. 67 (“the Act”). The expression “the appropriate Ministers”, used in section 95, is defined in section 1(2)(a) of the Act.

(2)
In the case of the Secretaries of State concerned with health in England and in Wales, by virtue of article 2(2) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Transfer of Functions (Wales) Order 1969 (S.I. 1969/388) and in the case of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland by virtue of section 40 of, and Schedule 5 to, the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36) and section 1(3) of, and paragraph 2(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to, the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (c. 28).

(3)
See section 129(6) of the Act.

(4)
See section 129(7) of the Act.

(5)
S.I. 1994/1932, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.