Towards fair advertising

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) may not have been able to effectively pursue its anti-cartel mandate, leading to certain market players' anti-competitive behaviour to increase profits through collusion, but it has been doing something important to discourage business practices based on incorrect or inaccurate information. It recently imposed a Rs 35 million penalty on a leading dairy company for launching a deceptive advertising campaign using a Supreme Court judgement to claim its milk as having been declared healthy and fit for human consumption, and also defaming in the process the products of its competitors. The CCP order said that the dairy firm was not only damaging its competitors' reputation but also misleading consumers. It also urged compliant behaviour by others fined for violations that remained recalcitrant. They have been issued show cause notices for violating Section 10 of the Competition Act.
Taking cognizance of the wider issues, the Commission noted in its order that in today's increasing health conscious environment, producers of fast moving consumer goods spend billions of rupees marketing their products directed at children and parents, stressing the need for firms to be truthful while advertising and marketing their products. Unfortunately, misleading advertising is galore. There seems to be no check on the activity. For example, some pharmaceutical firms regularly advertise vitamins and minerals, billed as public health messages, in attractive packages to incentivize potential buyers. According to health experts, such commercials can do serious harm to people having in their bodies sufficient amounts of a vitamin or mineral being sold. Even more dangerous are remedies for acute ailments being publicized. A case in point is a weekly presentation on a public sector FM radio, in which a person sells powdered pits of a certain variety of dates as a tried and tested treatment for blocked arteries, untreatable by surgeons, as well as various other health issues, including diabetes. Many unsuspecting individuals with cardiac or diabetic conditions may be falling victim to this and similar other crooks' misleading claims aimed at exploiting the suffering of prospective consumers to make dishonest money.
The Commission's key responsibility, of course, is to encourage, through advocacy, promotion of a competitive business environment. Violations, though, can entail fines or criminal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction. It may have been found wanting on this score, but it is trying harder to prohibit those resorting to deceptive marketing practices based on incorrect or inaccurate information. It needs to find more ways to strictly impose this part of its responsibilities.