Halal-tagged vaccine ad spurs controversy

ISLAMABAD: A leading consumer group has protested against the use of religion by a Swiss pharmaceutical transnational company to sell its vaccine tagging it with Halal.

A spokesman of the group said that Halal is an Arabic word which means religiously permissible, fearing that it may affect other vaccines crucial for children and women survival.

He added the said company advertised its vaccine for meningitis under
cover of 'public service message' flashing a popular celebrity, a TV person of religious program to weight the ad and target consumers in a deceptive manner.

He said on the complaint of The Network for Consumer Protection, the
Competition Commission of Pakistan, a state-funded body to ensure fair business practices, has already initiated probe and issued a letter to the company asking it to explain the said ad.

He said the advertisement is targeting around 200,000 intending pilgrims, who need to get vaccinated against Meningitis before traveling to Saudi Arabia.

He said another pharmaceutical company has also adopted the same
advertisement strategy and is claiming that its vaccine imported from Belgium is also Halal by using the image of Holy Makkah to deceive the consumers.

CEO of The Network, a member body of the Consumer International, a UK based world federation of consumer groups, Nadeem Iqbal said that use of such words like Halal may negatively affect on use of other vaccines particularly being used for polio eradication in the country.


He said this trend of tagging a product with Halal or Haram is not restricted to health sector only but the use of religion to sell products has also spread to banking sector.

He said The Network for Consumer Protection has already lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission against a Middle Eastern Bank, which is using similar tactics to entice the customers besides a company which is making milk packs. (APP)