A Prevalence Study of Delusive Advertisements in India and Its Regulation

Did drinking Horlicks make you taller and sharper? Is this true or were you sold a lie? In times of rising competition in the world of business, most companies have resorted to advertisement campaigns aimed at luring consumers to buy their products. There is increased use of advertisements to market products and increase the purchasing power of consumers worldwide. However, the strategy is used at the expense of the consumers through the propagation of misleading information. Although adverts are free to be creative with their advertisements, they must not exceed the boundaries of fairness. Food advertisements in India are under the control of FSSAI and the Advertising Standards Council of India ASCI. Section 24 of the FSS Act, 2006 strictly prohibits the use of deceiving claims for the promotion and sale of products and is a punishable offence. Under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Central Government has the power to deal with complaints related to misleading advertisements and false claims. The FSSAI has put many products under its radar over misleading claims and has begun prosecution proceedings in more than 100 cases under the FSS Act. In order to protect consumer interest, the government should establish more stringent laws and be a watchdog in regulating misleading advertisements. There is also a rising need of educating consumers about advertisements, their standards and legislation. Consumers and their organizations must exercise their rights against dishonest advertising and bring such cases to the notice of enforcement groups.