Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) S. Sacchidanand on Sunday urged doctors in general and Medical Council of India (MCI), in particular, to raise their voice against misleading advertisements related to health.
Speaking at the first State-level conference of doctors writing in Kannada on the Indian Medical Association (IMA) premises here, Dr. Sachhidanand said that there are a lot of advertisements in print and visual media about claims on arresting hair loss and reducing body weight. “Doctors should fight such irrational claims made without any basis. The MCI should take the lead,” he said.
Such false claims can be effectively countered by doctors if they come out with literature giving the right knowledge to people.
“Your (doctors) literary works will be effective if it is written in the way that people can understand,” he said.
President of Kannada Sahitya Parishad Manu Baligar said that literary works by doctors has played a crucial role in making Kannada literature rich in content.
“You all are silently working in building Kannada language,” he said and added that such works mattered the most at a time when the juggernaut of English and Hindi was rolling. Earlier, there was a session on the concerns of doctors and it was conducted by Na. Someshwara, who is the host of Doordarshan Chandana channel’s popular quiz show “That Anta Heeli”.
The IMA presented the annual best Kannada writer awards to Karaveera Prabhu Yalakonda and D.S. Shubhalata.
The IMA also organised an exhibition of books written by doctors. Among those on display included books written by doctors Girijamma, M.D. Surayakanth, H. Bhaskar Acharya and Saleem Nadaf.