VMD informal reaction on advertising goes ‘a long way but not far enough’ to answer communication concerns, says NOAH

The National Office of Animal Health today praises how the Veterinary Medicines Directorate are drawing up the new Veterinary Medicines Regulations. The process of open and detailed consultation has led to a much better and understandable set of regulations than the original 1968 Medicines Act and its many amending statutory instruments. There are still a few issues remaining to be resolved but great strides are being made in an area of particular concern to NOAH, that of advertising. Discussions with many other organisations involved with livestock have shown that many share NOAH’s view.

“The informal response by the VMD on advertising goes a long way to answering our concerns expressed following the original draft Regulations, which NOAH felt would overly restrict the industry’s ability to communicate to farmers”, explains NOAH chief executive Phil Sketchley. “However, we feel the VMD’s proposed changes do not go far enough. NOAH has, particularly over recent years, been devoting even more effort to self-regulation of promotion, and earlier this year launched a revised edition of the Code of Practice for the Promotion of Animal Medicines, which incorporates many changes and tighter self-regulatory rules which have already further enhanced our industry’s responsible approach to advertising, whether it be to veterinary surgeons, farmers or others.”

The VMD have formally acknowledged that farmers are not part of the general public, and so advertising of POM-VPM medicines to farmers should be permitted. They have also acknowledged that there are significant animal welfare benefits to advertising of and education about POM-V medicines to farmers, and have moved from the original suggestion that this should not be allowed, to say that some advertising should be permitted. The education of farmers through responsible advertising of POM-V medicines, VMD say, is important in raising the awareness of disease control measures of professional owners and keepers of animals and is also relevant for the Defra Animal Health and Welfare Strategy, and the importance role played by the responsible use of medicines in good animal husbandry practice. VMD have moved away from their original position that no information should be included in an advertisement which is not in an SPC (Summary of Product Characteristics), to say that information in the public domain can be included. However, as it stands, NOAH feels that there could be problems of definition, interpretation and enforcement if the Regulations were drawn up in line with the VMD’s informal reaction.

“NOAH has regularly reviewed its Code of Practice to take into account the views of stakeholders, including the veterinary profession, VMD and others. The principles of the Code have not changed but the specific detail has evolved and its sanctions do work in practice. There is no evidence of harm being done by the current advertising situation,” says Mr Sketchley.

“We firmly believe that self regulation can and does work and as the VMD have made it clear that the Regulations will be reviewed every year, we hope that we, the medicines industry, can continue to operate in such a way without ‘gold plating’ the first set of new regulations,” adds Mr Sketchley. “We are listening too, and hope to be able to continue to communicate to those that keep animals by way of a business, with renewed confidence in a strengthened advertising Code.”

Ends

20 April 2005

Notes for Editors

For further information contact Phil Sketchley or Alison Glennon at NOAH, tel. +44 (0)20 8367 3131, or visit the NOAH website.
The National Office of Animal Health was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent the UK companies which research, develop, manufacture and market licensed animal health products. The association has 32 corporate members and 13 associate members. In 2004 NOAH's members accounted for well over 90% of the £420 million UK animal health market