Health influencer rules in India: who may say what, and what you cannot claim

A health creator in India must be qualified for any technical advice they give, say so upfront, and avoid any claim that a product treats or cures a listed disease. Three rules apply together: ASCI's Addendum II on health and financial influencers (6 March 2025), the Department of Consumer Affairs' health and wellness guidelines (10 August 2023), and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

Our page on health and wellness influencer marketing covers creator types and budgets, and our ASCI guide covers the qualification rule in summary. This post goes one level deeper: how the three rules differ, which qualification fits which advice, and exactly what a script can and cannot say. For the wider channel, see our complete guide to influencer marketing in India.

Three rules, three jobs

The first two are about who is speaking. The third is about what is said. A qualified doctor with a perfect on-screen credential can still break the third rule.

ASCI's qualification rule in detail

Addendum II covers influencers who give advice, promote, or comment on the merits or demerits of technical aspects of goods or services in health and nutrition. ASCI says this includes any claim about prevention, treatment, cure or remedy for medical conditions. The influencer must hold qualifications such as a medical degree, or be a certified nurse, nutritionist, dietician, physiotherapist or psychologist, "depending on the specific advice being given".

That last phrase matters. A qualification must fit the advice. Our reading of how it maps:

The qualification and registration or certification details must go on screen superimposed and upfront, or be said as the opening remark in videos. For blogs and text posts they come before the reader reaches the post, and for podcasts they are called out at the start. ASCI says influencers must be able to provide proof if asked, so collect certificates before booking.

The April 2025 narrowing

On 28 April 2025 ASCI limited the requirement to technical information or advice. Generic content does not need credentials. ASCI's two examples are an insurer using an influencer to talk about annual health check-ups, and a health-food company tying up with a chef to promote a meal service. A chef can say how the meal service works. Telling viewers the meals reverse a condition is technical advice.

Consumer Affairs: certification and disclaimers

PIB's release of 10 August 2023 says the additional guidelines extend the 2022 misleading-advertisement guidelines and were developed after discussions with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Ayush, FSSAI and ASCI. They ask for two things.

• Certified experts disclose. Certified medical practitioners and health and fitness experts holding certifications from recognised institutions must disclose that they are certified when sharing information, promoting products or services, or making health-related claims.
• Others show a disclaimer. Celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers presenting themselves as health experts or practitioners must give a clear disclaimer that their endorsements are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

The disclosure or disclaimer is needed for topics such as health advantages including those from food items and nutraceuticals, disease prevention, treatment or cure, medical conditions, recovery methodologies and immunity boosting. It should display during the endorsement, or at any instance of making a health-related assertion.

General advice is exempt if it is not associated with a specific product or service and does not target a specific health condition or outcome. PIB's examples include drinking water, regular exercise, reducing screen time, enough sleep, turmeric milk, daily sunscreen and oiling hair. The same release asks experts to separate personal views from professional advice and to avoid specific health claims without substantiated facts. DoCA says it will monitor and enforce, with penalties under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

What a script cannot claim: the 1954 Act

The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, as on 15 April 2026 on India Code, is about the claim itself. Section 3 says no person shall take any part in publishing an advertisement referring to a drug in terms which suggest, or are calculated to lead to, its use for:

• procuring miscarriage or preventing conception in women;
• maintaining or improving the capacity of human beings for sexual pleasure;
• correcting menstrual disorder in women; or
• the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder or condition in the Act's Schedule, or any other specified by rules.

The wording turns on implication. An ad does not have to say "cures diabetes". Terms that suggest or are calculated to lead to that use are enough. Section 4 separately bars any ad about a drug that gives a false impression of its true character, makes a false claim or is otherwise false or misleading in a material particular.

The Schedule has 54 entries. Those that most often collide with creator content include:

Penalties under section 7: a first conviction can bring imprisonment of up to six months, a fine, or both, and a later conviction up to one year, a fine, or both. Under section 9, where a company commits an offence, the people in charge of its business can be treated as guilty unless they prove it happened without their knowledge or that they exercised all due diligence. Offences are cognizable.

Two cautions on reading the Act. First, "taking any part in the publication" is defined inclusively. Our reading is that a creator who posts, and a brand that commissions the post, are plausibly within it, but ask a lawyer. Second, whether a given supplement, device or Ayurvedic product is a "drug" under the Act, which includes articles other than food intended to affect the body's structure or function, is a legal question. Do not argue it in a script. Cut the claim.

ASCI's guidelines for celebrities in advertising (13 July 2023) tell celebrities not to take part in an advertisement for a product, treatment or remedy prohibited under the 1954 Act or Schedule J of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, or for products that by law need a health warning.

Two further limits

AI visuals. ASCI's 2026 guideline on synthetic content says exaggerating results through AI visuals is prohibited even with a label. Its example is a weight-loss product showing an AI-generated before-and-after body. Our post on AI-generated content rules for influencers covers the guideline.

Children. Under the CCPA's 2022 guidelines, as PIB described them, ads aimed at children must not make health or nutritional claims without adequate scientific substantiation by a recognised body. See our page on parenting and baby influencer marketing.

Doctors as creators

A doctor's professional conduct rules may limit product endorsements. We have not reviewed them, so ask each doctor-creator to confirm in writing that the deal is permitted for them. That is separate from ASCI and DoCA. It is also a reason to cast a dietician or psychologist where that fits the advice.

A process that holds up

1. Write a claims library first. Three columns: say freely, say with a qualifier from a qualified speaker, never say. Have your regulatory or legal lead sign it before any creator is briefed.
2. Collect a credential file. Certificate, registration number with the relevant professional body, photo ID and any expiry date, with a dated copy of each check.
3. Use two voices. An expert carries every technical statement, and an experience creator carries the story. Neither gives a diagnosis.
4. Plan the on-screen layers. Qualification at the start, the not-medical-advice disclaimer while health assertions are made, and the ad label for the format. See our post on disclosure labels.
5. Review every draft against the library. Look for implied claims as well as explicit ones, including captions and hashtags.
6. Watch the comments. A creator who answers "what should I take for this?" under the post is making a health assertion. Brief them to reply with "please ask a doctor".
7. Hold payment until fixes are done. Put the takedown right in the influencer contract.

Pre-brief checklist

Personal care is the largest mainstream category in ASCI's influencer violations, at 16.9 percent in FY2025-26 after illegal betting, so skincare and wellness brands should treat this as a standing process. Our guide to Consumer Affairs endorsement guidelines covers the due-diligence side, and our page on beauty and skincare covers claims there. To plan a campaign with qualified creators, see how we work or send us a brief.

This is general information, not legal advice.