The Department of Consumer Affairs, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has released Additional Guidelines for Health & Food Influencers, celebrities in the field of health and wellness.
These guidelines are an important extension to the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 released on 9th June 2022, and in lieu of the “Endorsement Know-hows!” guide booklet released on 20th January 2023.
The government has made new rules for social media influencers who talk about food, health and wellness. These rules say that if they are not real doctors or health experts, they have to tell everyone that. Also, if they act like they know a lot about health, they have to say that what they’re saying is just their opinion, not real medical advice.
The government made these rules to stop fake or wrong information about health from spreading. They want to make sure that when these famous people and influencers talk about things like good foods, how to stay healthy, or ways to get better from being sick, they are being honest and not trying to trick anyone.
Rules also say that if the famous people or influencers talk about specific products or treatments for health, they have to be really clear that they are not doctors and their advice is not a replacement for what a real doctor would say. They need to put a notice or a message that says this, so people know that they shouldn’t just listen to them and ignore real doctors.
These rules for Health & Food Influencers are made with the discussion of Ministry of Health, Ministry of Ayush, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). They want to make sure that people get the right information about health and don’t get fooled by wrong claims.
These rules only apply when famous people and influencers talk about health products or give advice for specific health problems. If they just give general tips like “drink water” or “get enough sleep,” these rules don’t apply.
But even if they talk about general tips, they still need to be careful and not pretend to be doctors. They should always tell people to ask real doctors if they have questions about their health.
If these rules are not followed, there can be punishments according to the law. The government wants to protect people and make sure that everyone gets the right information about their health.
For more information on the new guidelines, watch this PPT.
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