A claim made by Nical Binni, the well-known Made in America importer, on Smash Television that the ban on the Blue Pain Relief adverts in the media was the work of then health minister Louis Deguara who was ‘corrupt’, has cost Mr Binni e4,000 in libel damages.

Mr Binni made his claim on a programme together with Dr Michael Farrugia on Smash TV on 17 January 2005. He said that the ban was intended to help the minister’s friends, the other importers of medicine.

Mr Binni had run a heavy advertising campaign for his Blue Pain Relief on television and other media. The Department of Health, acting on a complaint it received, had found that Blue Pain Relief was being marketed as a medicine but did not have an approval of the proper pharmaceutical authorities.

Mr Binni’s then defence lawyer, Emy Bezzina, had written to protest to the European Commission, which had agreed with the Maltese authorities’ interpretation of the law.

In March 2003, following complaints by a Media Link advertising executive, the wording in the advert was changed and advertising again allowed. But in August the Pharmacy Board protested and insisted on re-assessing the advert and the newly set up Medicines Authority decided in November 2003 to ban it again.

After consulting the EU, Mr Binni renamed his product Blue Main Relief. It was reclassified as cosmetics and non-medicinal and allowed to be advertised again.

But in the meantime Mr Binni had expressed his anger on the Smash TV programme.

The case was heard by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera who ruled that Mr Binni had claimed the minister had placed the ban on the advert when it had been proved the minister had nothing to do with the ban, as this had been imposed by the Broadcasting Authority following a complaint made by the Health Authorities.