On May 31 the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian signed the RA Law “On Introducing Amendments and Additions into the RA Law ‘On Advertising’ ”. The amendments were adopted by the National Assembly of Armenia in the second hearing and finally on May 2 and referred to advertising in media, as well as outdoor advertising of pharmaceutical production, medical equipment and methodology. As it has been reported, the first hearing of the draft was made on March 22, and, in the opinion of Yerevan Press Club, along with justified restrictions it stipulated excessively bureaucratic barriers, namely the introduction of a procedure for providing permission for such advertising to be made by the Armenian Government (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, March 17-23, 2006). Unfortunately, the final text of the document did not have any changes.
Thus, now the advertising of medicines in the broadcast and print media must have a specification of the number and the date of the certificate of the state registration in the Republic of Armenia as well as the number and the date of the permission, issued by the RA Ministry of Health. The advertising of controlled prescription drugs that are not registered in the RA as well as billboard advertising of medicines is prohibited. The number and the date of the permission of the Ministry of Health must also be specified in the media and outdoor billboard advertising of medical equipment and methodology. The advertising of organizations or entrepreneurs, providing medical or pharmaceutical services, implementing education programs, must contain the number and the date of license for the respective activity.
After all this it is not quite clear why an additional procedure for permitting medical advertising should have been introduced.
