Authorities expose illegal disguised TCM ads

The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on Thursday revealed that 99 percent of 739 TCM-related medical treatment articles are actually advertisements.

The articles were discovered in the first quarter of 2013 in both traditional and online media, according to Wang Lian, office director of the administration.

Wang said 17 blacklists containing the names of websites that carry illegal TCM ads have been passed on to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, adding that 670 sites have been shut down so far.

The administration is monitoring newspapers, magazines and the Internet in order to prevent the spread of false TCM information. The results of their efforts will be made public and given to related departments for further investigation.

Figures from the administration show that 9,914 false and illegal TCM advertisements were exposed from 2008 to 2012, leading to warnings or punishment for 534 medical institutions and the revocation of 143 related licenses.