The chain of vested interests should be broken to halt the flood of false and illegal advertisements in the media, says an article in People's Daily. An excerpt follows:

Statistics from the State Food and Drug Administration show that from January to August this year, 9,680 of the 10,600 medicine advertisements carried in 181 newspapers were illegal. The illegal ads, carried either without approval of related State departments or with modified contents, have damaged the health of consumers.

In recent months, several State departments have launched a coordinated large-scale campaign against false and illegal advertisements for medicines, medical apparatus and supposedly healthy food.

Why is the placing of illegal ads so widespread despite a severe crackdown?

The investigation into the illegal ads involves the departments of drugs, industry and commerce, press and publication, and public security.

It is unavoidable that there are some loopholes in their coordination and cooperation. However, the main reason for the prevalence of unchecked, false and illegal advertisements is that the chain of benefits produced in the process of their publication has not been destroyed.

To acquire handsome profits, some media give the green light to misleading advertisements. It is also often the case that advertising agencies collude with media outlets to avoid monitoring from the market management authorities to evade taxes.

The chain of vested interests should be resolutely broken. To this end, coordinated efforts and cooperation from various State departments are certainly needed.

(China Daily October 21, 2005)