Economy

Tightening the fight against counterfeit goods and trade fraud - Part 2: Major consequences from herbs of unknown origin

Reporter Group • DNUM_AJZAHZCACF 11:24

In recent years, social networks have become an extremely "effective" marketing channel for herbal medicine advertisements labeled as "family medicine", "national secret medicine"... with exaggerated information about their effects. In Nghe An, many people have fallen into the situation of "losing money and getting sick" because of believing in them, even seriously affecting their health.

In recent years, social networks have become an extremely "effective" marketing channel for herbal medicine advertisements labeled as "family medicine", "national secret medicine"... with exaggerated information about their effects. In Nghe An, many people have fallen into the situation of "losing money and getting sick" because of believing in them, even seriously affecting their health.

Lost money and suffered because of believing in "family medicine"

Searching on TikTok, Facebook or YouTube with phrases like “herbal cancer treatment”, “treating myopia without surgery”, “treating osteoarthritis”..., after just a few seconds, hundreds of videos appear with eye-catching content, flowery words, claiming to be “healers”, “Eastern medicine doctors”, introducing herbal extracts, decoctions, herbal teas with “miraculous” effects: curing diseases without surgery, without Western medicine, without going to the hospital(!).

What is very alarming is that this information hits the psychology of many people, especially the elderly and chronic patients, who are afraid of modern medicine and want to find “benign traditional medicine”. Many people believe the advertisements, order medicine online and use it without any medical examination or consultation.

For example, the case of Ms. Giang Thi Tuyen (75 years old, residing in Giai Lac commune, Nghe An) is a clear example. Listening to the advertisement on TikTok about a type of "herbal gac" that can cure bone and joint problems after only 20 days, she spent nearly 4 million VND to buy it. However, after 2 months of perseverance, not only did her condition not improve, but she also suffered from edema and difficulty breathing, and had to be hospitalized for emergency care.

Another case is Ms. Tran Thi Minh in Dien Chau commune, who shared that she bought herbal medicine to treat diabetes for her father from a Facebook account selling "a 3-generation traditional medicine of the highlanders", advertised as "completely cured after 60 days", priced at 6 million VND/course; however, after less than 3 weeks of use, her father's health worsened, and he had to be hospitalized in a state of exhaustion and severe hypoglycemia.

Furthermore, a series of accounts on TikTok and YouTube advertise products such as “cancer prevention tea” for several hundred thousand VND/package, which are claimed to be able to “eliminate tumors, eliminate cancer”, “treat thyroid tumors, uterine fibroids”... Such “winged” words are not only untrue but also extremely dangerous, causing patients to refuse medical treatment, risking their lives because of believing in a fragile hope.

Research shows that most of the accounts selling herbal medicines online do not disclose a specific address, do not have a license to practice, do not have invoices or documents proving the origin of the products. Sellers often use images of people wearing white blouses, speaking with a mountain accent, claiming to be "ethnic doctors" or "keepers of secret medicine" to increase their credibility. Some even blatantly impersonate doctors from major hospitals or use newspaper and television logos to "guarantee" the products.

In addition to the exaggerated advertising of their effects, many medicinal herbs today also pose a risk of being counterfeited. Many products are widely sold by self-proclaimed “herbalists”. Some even use preservatives or additives, potentially causing serious harm to consumers’ health.

According to medical experts, to date, no single herbal medicine has been scientifically proven to cure cancer. Some herbs can help boost immunity and improve symptoms, but they cannot replace medical treatment. In fact, these are organized scams, disguised as e-commerce and social networks; the subjects operate through multiple layers of virtual accounts, closed groups on Facebook, Zalo, Telegram... to sell products, livestream false advice, and even lure buyers to join as collaborators and distributors to create a disguised multi-level system.

The situation of "exaggerating" the effects of herbs and functional foods is still widespread in many markets and small pharmacies in rural and remote areas. Here, many pharmacies take advantage of people's lack of knowledge and the mentality of "when sick, pray to all directions" to advise and entice people to buy products of unknown origin, with sketchy labels, advertised as "miracle drugs". These products are introduced as "liver tonics, detoxifiers, immune boosters, blood sugar reducers, blood lipid reducers"... but in fact are common functional foods, with no effect on treating diseases. Many pharmacy owners even suggest "taking them instead of medicine", advising patients to completely abandon the doctor's prescription and switch to using functional foods with the commitment of "no side effects" and "long-term effectiveness".

At rural markets and fairs, it is not difficult to come across street vendors selling various types of roots, dried leaves, plasters, and wine, advertised as "rare traditional medicine", "secret recipes of the Dao and Thai people", "special treatment for bones, joints, stomach, and insomnia", etc. for only a few tens to a few hundred thousand dong. Sellers often include thrilling stories such as having cured incurable diseases or having received prescriptions from "old doctors" in the forest, causing many gullible people to trust them and buy them without realizing that they are putting their health and even their lives in danger.

For example, the case of Ms. BTL (60 years old), residing in Xuan Lam commune, Nghe An province, has been living with numbness in the limbs and pain in the joints for more than 10 years, making it difficult to walk. Instead of going to the hospital for a check-up, Ms. L trusted the recommendation of an acquaintance in the commune, who claimed to have "a traditional folk remedy combined with traditional massage". She was instructed to take a herbal medicine along with a daily foot massage, with a total price of over 10 million VND. Advertisements such as "completely cured after 1 month", "clearing the meridians, promoting blood circulation" made her hope for a miracle...

However, after persistently following the treatment for more than a month, Ms. BTL's condition not only did not improve, but also showed signs of worsening. When her family took her to a medical facility for examination, the doctor concluded that her joints had severely degenerated, and treatment would be more difficult because she had missed the time for effective medical intervention. Ms. L's case once again shows the alarming consequences of trusting word-of-mouth treatments that have not been medically verified.

The uncontrolled trade and use of herbs and functional foods is posing many challenges in protecting public health. In this context, strengthening inspection and handling of false advertising, tightening management of the traditional pharmaceutical market and raising public awareness are urgent solutions that need to be implemented synchronously and regularly.

Find solutions to thoroughly handle herbal business violations

In the context of the booming e-commerce, controlling online drug sales is a difficult problem. Most transactions now take place through unofficial platforms, are not registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and do not have invoices or documents, making it difficult for management agencies to trace the origin and handle violations.

Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly issued warnings to people not to believe in advertisements that exaggerate the effects, to only use prescription drugs, as directed by a doctor, and with a clear origin. The Information Security Department (Ministry of Information and Communications) also strongly recommends not to participate in unofficial medical consultation groups, and not to buy drugs from unknown accounts.

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According to information from the Nghe An Market Management Department, since the beginning of 2025, this agency has coordinated with other forces to handle 28 cases related to the trading of drugs and functional foods of unknown origin online, imposing administrative fines of more than 623 million VND. The main violations are trading in counterfeit drugs, infringing on intellectual property rights, false advertising of uses, and illegal use of images of doctors.

In Nghe An, the Market Management Department has organized training for officials to identify counterfeit drugs and counterfeit goods; assigned forces to monitor e-commerce activities and crack down on online drug sales groups. However, they have encountered many difficulties such as registering websites and buying domain names abroad is very easy, with just a few simple steps, individuals and organizations can set up "virtual" sales pages without being strictly controlled by authorities. When discovered or reported, these subjects quickly erase their traces or move to new addresses to continue operating, causing many difficulties for management and handling of violations.

In order to tighten the management of the business and use of medicinal herbs, the Ministry of Health has issued a circular clearly stipulating the conditions for the preliminary processing and preparation of medicinal herbs. At the same time, the Department of Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Management also regularly sends documents to local Departments of Health, requesting to strengthen the inspection and supervision of clinics and traditional medicine establishments. In case of detecting medicinal herbs and oriental medicines of unknown origin, they will be strictly handled according to the provisions of law.

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According to statistics, the health network in Nghe An includes a total of 3,635 licensed medical and pharmaceutical establishments, including 741 medical establishments (19 hospitals, 39 general clinics and 683 specialized clinics, medical services) and 2,894 pharmaceutical establishments (95 companies and branches; 765 pharmacies; 2,034 drugstores). From January 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, the Department of Health has licensed 894 pharmaceutical establishments (11 companies and branches; 403 pharmacies; 480 drugstores); granted and re-granted pharmaceutical practice certificates to 875 individuals; granted certificates of food safety eligibility to 139 establishments under the management of the health sector.

(To be continued)