24 April 2010
BEIRUT: The National Audiovisual Media Council said Friday that local media outlets needed financial assistance to help them avoid resorting to accepting advertising for shady medical herbs and related products.
The council, presided over by Abdel-Hadi Mahfouz, met at the Information Ministry to discuss imposing penalties on fake advertisements for medical herbs and therapeutic products.
It said difficult financial conditions were forcing television stations to rely on such advertisements to make money, urging that taxes on audiovisual outlets be lowered in order to head off the phenomenon.
Mahfouz warned that the phenomenon of herbal and medicinal product advertising went beyond Lebanon’s borders, as certain non-Lebanese television stations were promoting the products based on advertisements taken from Lebanese channels.
He also called for amending laws concerning the matter and on adopting more severe punishments, ranging from a simple warning to imposing fines or to closing the institution for three days.
“But before all this, there should be a Lebanese political decision to support any measure taken against an institution that violates the law,” he added.
The council participated in a meeting of Parliament’s Health Committee on the same subject a day earlier. The two bodies decided to present a memorandum to Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar and Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh, asking to form special committees charged with following up on the advertisements issue.
“Audiovisual institutions should not be the only ones to blame while others are left alone,” Mahfouz said.
The council also discussed providing social security and health care for actors belonging to the Union of Professional Artists. – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
