GHANA Law and Practice Contributed by: Olusola Ogundimu and Esohe Olajide, Integrated Legal Consultants
2. Advertising Claims 2.1 Deceptive or Misleading Claims
However, Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution of Gha - na provides that a person whose fundamental rights have been breached may approach the High Court for redress. Therefore, consumers may explore this option where an advertising practice contravenes their fundamental rights. 1.9 Regulatory and Legal Trends An important recent legal and regulatory develop - ment regarding deceptive advertising in Ghana is the conviction of Patricia Asiedua, also known as “Nana Agradaa”, a former traditional priestess turned evan - gelist, who deceived people during a programme on television by claiming that she could double their funds through her spiritual powers, which resulted in several people parting with huge sums of money. She was given a fine of 25 penalty units for charlatanic advertisement or a jail term of 30 days in the event of default of payment of the fine. This was alongside the 15 years’ imprisonment imposed on her by the court on multiple counts of defrauding by false pretence. Beyond this high-profile case, the courts in Ghana have taken a serious stance against deceptive adver - tising while applying both civil and criminal sanctions to persons found to have offended relevant laws, including the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), the Pro - tection Against Unfair Competition Act 2000 (Act 589) and the Trade Marks Act 2004 (Act 664) as amended. 1.10 Taste and Cultural Concerns Advertisements should generally not be obscene, should not offend public order, decency or moral - ity, and should not promote public disorder or illegal activities. In recent times, citizens have raised con - cerns about advertising promoting LGBTQ activities in Ghana, although no laws have been passed to that effect. Advertisers should be mindful of offending religious or ethnic beliefs while advertising. 1.11 Politics, Regulation and Enforcement There have been no recent political changes that have impacted the regulation or enforcement of advertising regulations.
In their guidelines on advertising, the FDA and GC provide standards regarding misleading advertise - ments, including the following. • Advertisements shall be accurate, complete, clear and designed to promote credibility among the general public. Therefore, statements or illustra - tions must not mislead directly or by implication. • Advertisements in relation to food must comply with the CODEX Guidelines on Claims. All claims must be complete, truthful, substantiated and not misleading. In relation to food, advertisements should not contain claims that pre-packaged foods can prevent or cure diseases, disorders or any abnormal physical states. • Advertisements of food must not criticise any other company’s competing or alternative products, either directly or by implication, and should not imitate the general layout, text, slogans or visual presentation or devices of the advertisement of food products of other companies. • Advertisements should not be couched in a man - ner that exploits superstitious beliefs or the emo - tions of consumers, or that induces fear in con - sumers to incite them to purchase the product. • Advertisements for alcoholic beverages must con - tain certain warnings regarding drinking respon - sibly and the non-suitability for persons under 18 years and for pregnant women. Outlets must also display warnings, and advertisements being aired on television and social media must have the health warnings running for the entire duration of the advertisement. • Advertisements should not depict drinking alcohol as fashionable or appealing to minors. • In addition to not being misleading, the GC states that advertising must not depict responsible gam - bling nor make it appealing to minors. In addition, all claims must be substantiated and should not contain negative content about competitors. • The GC requires that endorsement by persons in advertisements should not suggest that patronising games of chance contributed to their success or is a regular avenue or source of income.
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