Reporting Guidelines
General Press Release No. 169 (March 1993)

Recall of Therapeutic Goods

The Australian Press Council was requested by the Therapeutic Goods Administration Division of the Commonwealth Department of Health to give consideration to the manner in which news items are compiled by the press in relation to the recall of therapeutic goods.

The Council, when considering the request, found that one of its constituent bodies has established a set of guidelines which the Council recommends for general use. The guidelines refer to reports on product recalls but urge that particular care be taken in relation to therapeutic products. They are:

1. Include the full identity of the product (name, strength, batch number, serial number etc).
2. Give reasons for the recall.
3. Give a careful explanation of any hazard to the user so as not to raise undue alarm.
4. Use a pointer to any advertisement concerning the recall (including page number where possible).
5. Publish an information hotline phone number if available.

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