Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Proliferation of Deceptive Food Supplement Ads Alarms

Aklan SP

By Recto I. Vidal


KALIBO, AKLAN- The Aklan Medical Society has sounded the alarm regarding the "unwarranted proliferation of deceptive advertisement of certain dietary supplements without Bureau of Food and Drug (BFAD) approved therapeutic claims being aired in local radio stations here and advertised in local tabloids here.

In a letter addressed to the provincial board members of Aklan, the Aklan Medical Society headed by its president Dr. Cynthia dela Cruz, revealed it has requested the Advertising Board (ADBOARD) of the Philippines and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) to act immediately on the specific misleading and deceptive advertisement content or false therapeutic claims of some product manufacturers.

"The AMS requested that these advertisements be corrected if not banned soonest from further media dissemination and to advice, correct and chastise the advertising agency concerned for their blatant violation of the pertinent BFAD regulations, dela Cruz said in a letter dated Sept. 12,2005.

In its resolution, the AMS expressed great alarm with the province-wide "deceptive testimonials of food supplements and herbal products namely "Pau de Arco" capsules and "Uno Dos Tres"
capsules.

"These products have no BFAD approved therapeutic claims and without the benefit of the usual standard
scientific research and development studies to support their fantastic and unfounded therapeutic claims,"
dela Cruz said in a recent news conference.

The AMS president bared that the officers and members of said medical group has expressed great concern of these unethical advertisement and the possible harmful effects of these "cure all" dietary supplements.

"There is no single drug that can cure three or more ailments at the same time in one person as some testimonials say over the airlanes. These testimonies may provide a false sense of security among our people while being falsely treated by these alleged cure all food supplements," Dr, Emmett L. Custodio. Governor of the Philippine Medical Association in Western Visayan, pointed out.

As stated in the AMS resolution, "it is the duty of every physician to warn the public against the dangers and false pretensions of charlatans and quacks, since their deceitful practice may cause injury to health and even loss of life of the patient. It may also add to their medical expenses unnecessarily."

During the said news conference, Maybel U. Concepcion, Aklan DOH-BFAD representative, confirmed "the blatant violations of specific provisions of Bureau of Food and Drug (BFAD) regulations, making violators subject and liable to penalties in the form of fines and possible imprisonment."

The AMS also appealed to the local media for their "professional and moral ascendancy, characteristic of
self-regulating, responsible journalism tenets and standards." mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com

1 comment:

lili said...

I am a user of uno dos tres, and i found it the best food supplement ever! It is not deceptive. I advice for you to use it and see for yourself.