"No medical commercials on STDs AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, hepatitis-B, vitiligo, lupus erythematosus should be allowed to appear," says a circular issued by the Ministry of Health on Monday.

The document demands health administrative departments at all levels to press surveillance over such advertising and to cooperate with advertising watchdogs in dealing with commercial distributors.

Health departments are required to report to local administrations for industry and commerce within three days once they detect any illegal ads, according to the document.

China's advertisement watchdog, the General Administration for Industry and Commerce also issued a circular asking for enhanced supervision over false ads.

China banned false medical commercials on treatment of STDs in 2003, but ads bragging treatments for syphilis and gonorrhea are still seen on street walls or wire poles in small cities and the countryside.

Residents, fearing infection and seeking low-cost treatment, are often more willing to see private doctors, spurring a boom of underground clinics in towns and small cities where supervision isloose. Enditem