BCC finds TV stations do not observe conditions of broadcasting advertising

Most of the TV stations, national and local, do not observe the conditions of broadcasting advertising. The finding has been made by the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) following monitoring sessions carried out in May, Info-Prim Neo reports. The head of the BCC monitoring direction, Dinu Ciocan, said on Monday the derogations from Broadcasting Code disclosed were common for 90% of the monitored stations. Many violations are related to the advertising for medicines and medical treatment not needing medical prescription. The advertising message does not contain the recommendation to call on a doctor of a drug-store seller in case adverse reactions appear; they do not show the number of the license of the product either. Also, the advertising and teleshopping are not always broadcast in a group, they are neither separated through optical and sound signals. Another common violation is the repeated advertising of the same product during a single hour. The representatives of the TV stations, present at the sitting, complained of technical and legal contradictions. For example the Moldovan legislation does not define whether beer is an alcoholic beverage and it is not clear whether it can be advertised on TV. Ludmila Vasilache, a BCC member, has said it is necessary to organize a round table to discuss the controversial legal provisions. As for the advertising of beer, the BCC chairman, Gheorghe Gorincioi, has said a joint commission of the BCC and the National Agency of the protection of competition work to modify the advertising law. The BCC requires the broadcasters to conform with the advertising law. The BCC members decided to perform more controls. If the same irregularities are noticed, the broadcasters will be punished. They to submit explanatory reports as to the violated unveiled. The next sitting of the BCC is scheduled for early July and will be dedicated exclusively to this issue.