PCI advises media to stop publicity, advertisement of AYUSH-related claims for COVID-19 treatment

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the need to be fit and urged people to follow Ayush ministry’s protocols on ways to improve health and immunity amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Press Council of India (PCI) has issued an advisory to newspapers to not publish any advertisement for AYUSH-related claims regarding treatment of COVID-19.

In an official statement , PCI said, “Press Council of India advises the print media to stop publicity and advertisement of AYUSH-related claims for COVID-19 treatment in order to prevent dissemination of misleading information about AYUSH drugs and services in view of the emerging threat in the country due to COVID-19 outbreak.”

The PCI advisory comes days after a order by the AYUSH ministry on similar lines. The order had mentioned that “it is imperative to apply and implement various measures for maintaining public safety in all aspects and to control dissemination of misleading information about AYUSH drugs and services”. The order was marked to the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry and to the Press Council, among others.

Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik tweeted, endorsing the “guidelines for better health and immunity”.

Some guidelines for better health and immunity.
Make them part of your life and share them with others.#IndiaFightsCorona#AYUSHFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/hpvcNcpHnW

— Shripad Y. Naik (@shripadynaik) April 1, 2020

Modi, in his tweet, urged citizens “to have a look at the Ayush Ministry protocol, make it a part of your lives and share it with others.”

I urge you to have a look at the Ayush Ministry protocol, make it a part of your lives and share it with others.

Let’s keep the focus on being healthy. After all, good health is the harbinger of happiness. pic.twitter.com/fZCPFJtwi0

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 1, 2020

In March, the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy or AYUSH, had sent out an advisory to states suggesting “add-on traditional medicine interventions to conventional care” after coming under fire from medical experts for recommending Arsenicum Album that was not backed by adequate scientific evidence to battle Covid-19 symptons.

The letter written by AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha and addressed to the chief secretaries of the states also lists 40 research papers, both national and international, that laud the importance of traditional medicines. Citing the increasing number of the Covid-19 cases in the country, the ministry has asked all states to “ensure their AYUSH-based public health response systems are in order”, the Economic Times reported.