Non-prescription medicines are advertised extensively in the media. It is important to ensure that such advertisements are responsible, ethical and do not mislead the buyer.
Prohibited advertising practices
In Lithuania, only non-prescription medicines, as well as vaccines are allowed to be advertised. The law prohibits advertisements which:
- offer medicines as a gift for another purchase
- direct the advertisement towards children
- indicate that the medicinal product is a food suppliment
- declare that medicines are safe (without a proper assessment), not toxic and do not cause addiction etc.
There is a prohibition on advertising medicinal products that are not registered in Lithuania or by the European Medicines Agency.
note The marketing of medicines is also regulated on the EU level via legislation and the European medicines regulatory network.
Rules of advertising
The law prescribe different rules of advertising for the general public and specialists, but the key rules are that:
- specialist can see advertisements for prescription medicines
- it is only allowed in specialised websites and publications
- information in the advertising must be truthful
- it must not be misleading
- it complies with the laws on comparative advertising