Evaluation of ayurvedic and herbal product advertisements on electronic and print media in a developing country

Abstract Objectives To assess the content and frequency of ayurvedic and herbal product advertisements in electronic and print media in Sri Lanka. Methods Advertisements on ayurvedic and herbal products that did not contain any known allopathic medicine/substance with a label that claimed to have curative/preventive health benefits/indications were included in this study. Data were collected over a 2-month period from 5 national television (TV) channels and 3 radio channels, 7 national newspapers and 10 websites. Key findings In total, 285 ayurvedic and herbal product advertisements were identified. There were high number of TV advertisements (n = 165; 57.9%). Among TV advertisements, 80.6% of advertisements were from private TV channels. The majority of the advertisements were in the Sinhala language (67.4%). The price of the product was mentioned in 71.5% of TV advertisements. All newspaper and radio advertisements mentioned indication. Many therapeutic and non-therapeutic claims were mentioned in the advertisements. None of the advertisements mentioned about side effects. Only 8.1% of all advertisements mentioned the ayurvedic registration number of the product. Contact details (contact number or address of manufacturer) were included in only 53.3% (n = 152) of the advertisements overall, although this was given in all newspaper advertisements. In contrast, a lesser number of advertisements contained contact details on TV (n = 58; 20.4%). Conclusions Contents of advertisements varied between and within different media, with a significant proportion not including key information. Most advertisements included unsubstantiated therapeutics and non-therapeutic claims. There is a necessity to implement and enforce stringent guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the population.