asked the Minister for Health whether as alleged at the conference of the Irish Medical Students Association in Galway on 22 January 1984 pharmaceutical companies are promoting their products directly to the public by way of television and newspaper stories, even though such products would only be available by way of medical prescriptions.

Neither the Department of Health nor the National Drugs Advisory Board are aware of any pharmaceutical companies promoting directly to the public products which may be supplied only on prescription.

Two drugs were specifically mentioned, ponstan and dextropropoxphene. I do not know what they contain but they were cited as being in this category. Attention was drawn to the dangers of self-medication with regard to these drugs. Therefore, would the Minister consider instituting a code of practice to prevent that occurring again?

The television advertisements which I have been reviewing are Benylin preparations. Two other drugs, Kalpol and Actifed, were mentioned and regulations do not stipulate that these products may only be got on prescription. However, the conditions for the authorisations to market these products stipulate that they should be promoted to the professions only and, with the agreement of the National Drugs Advisory Board, the firms concerned have anticipated the removal of this restriction.

5.

asked the Minister for Health whether his Department have investigated the allegation made at the conference of the Irish Medical Students Association in Galway on 22 January 1984 that the pharmaceuticals industry is promoting drugs through misleading advertisements to the medical profession; and if he has satisfied himself that this is not in fact the case.

No proprietary medicine may be placed on the market in this country without a product authorisation. In its examination of applications for authorisations the National Drugs Advisory Board consider the claims proposed to be made in respect of each medicine. These claims, if accepted by the board, are incorporated in the authorisation granted. Any advertisement or other promotion used in the marketing of this medicine must be consistent with the accepted claims as set out in the authorisation.

Very few instances of misleading advertising have come to the notice of the National Drugs Advisory Board but, where they did, the advertisement in question was discontinued through the board's intervention.