Australian consumer body pushes for single marketing Code in Pharma sector

Australia urgently needs a single Code of Conduct to ensure health consumers know that medicines and other therapeutic goods they buy have been promoted ethically and deliver the claimed health benefits, according to Carol Bennett, executive director of the nation's Consumers Health Forum.

'The numerous industry codes of conduct - largely monitored - have created a perception that the system of review and complaint is closed and secretive and, in some cases, operates in the industry's interests. Some in the pharmaceutical industry would acknowledge that the current system is grossly inefficient and out of date and can be improved, probably with considerable cost savings,' she argued.

Ms Bennett cited as one area of concern as the 'extraordinary and unregulated' growth of on-line pharmacies which sell a range of medicines and 'miracle cures‟ without normal checks and balances. She was speaking last week before a scheduled meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, to discuss the need for a single code of conduct.