Warning on ads for food supplements
Exaggerated advertisements about supplementary food can threaten the health of consumers. In some cases, the risk could be fatal.
“We have found a number of advertisements on satellite TV and community radio stations have exaggerated the benefits of certain products,” Thai Drug Watch manager Asst Prof Niyada Kiartyingangsulee said yesterday. She said her agency and relevant organisations including the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission took steps needed to raise public awareness about exaggerated ads and possible negative impacts.
But there is big money in this sector. Advertising by the food and medicine supplement industry in Thailand was worth Bt17 billion a year from 2006 to 2009.
Panachai Pongpamarat said his relative had suffered from diabetes and received treatment from a hospital for years. The treatment had been satisfactory until his relative came across an ad about Enzyme powder.
“The advertisement says the product can cure cancers, diabetes, and high-blood pressure problems,” Panachai recounted, “Repeated exposure to the advertisement finally convinced my relative to give it a try.”
Panachai said his relative stopped taking medicine and relied on the Enzyme powder alone.
The powder was sold at Bt2,500 for 50 small packets.
“It’s very expensive for farmers like us. But of course, ill people want full recovery,” he said.
Two months after taking the Enzyme powder, the condition of his diabetic relative worsened. The patient died of kidney failure at a hospital.
“It hurts us all. A deception has killed him,” Panachai lamented.
Drug Watch boss Niyada said Enzyme powder – when entering human intestines – would simply become amino, like an organic compound.
Rural Pharmacists Society chairman Panu Chotethongyang said the Enzyme drink contained just extracts of papaya and other fruits. “No ingredients in it have therapeutic attributes,” he said.
Panu said some unknowing victims of exaggerated ads had sold their farmland to buy products with exaggerated benefits.
He urged people to carefully review advertisements before fully believing their content.
“Please check whether the advertisements for supplementary food and medicines have an authorisation number. If you suspect that their benefits are exaggerated, please contact the Food and Drug Administration, provincial public-health officers or hospitals,” Panu said.
