Be careful with health food advertising

Hype

These days, every time he sees a health food advertisement on TV or online, Mr. Vo Nuu (80 years old, in Yen Thanh town, Yen Thanh district) gets upset. In his complaint to Nghe An Newspaper, this veteran said that he does not regret the money he was scammed, but he is just upset and sad because the image of the soldier and the image of the doctor were used to scam. "I want to share my story so that people can be alert to this type of scam," Mr. Nuu said.

Mr. Niu is a retired army colonel. Like many other elderly people, he has been tormented by joint pain for several years now. Recently, he went online and discovered an advertisement for a herbal remedy, claiming to “end all joint and bone diseases, whether 10 or 20 years”. This post also featured a picture of a military doctor, with a high position in the army, and said that this army colonel, an excellent doctor, had created this health food.

In addition, the article also said that this herbal remedy has been reported by many reputable TV stations and newspapers. The post also attached many videos, in which the logos of reputable TV channels were attached, showing as a TV report praising this herbal remedy.

The online advertisement made Mr. Niu believe. Photo: Tien Hung captured

“After looking through the advertisements, I was very confident. I believed because the person sharing the medicine was an army colonel, I believed because reputable newspapers and television stations also advertised it,” Mr. Nuu said. The veteran then contacted and bought 3 boxes of medicine for 1.8 million VND, after talking on the phone with someone who claimed to be a “doctor, excellent physician, army colonel”.

However, a few days later, what Mr. Niu received were 3 boxes of health protection food called An Cot Phuc Linh. These 3 boxes have a market price of only 180,000 VND (60,000 VND/box).

“After paying the postman, I opened the package and was shocked to discover that this functional food was not made by that doctor. These 3 boxes were produced and distributed in Hanoi, and had nothing to do with that doctor. Not to mention that it was 10 times more expensive,” Mr. Niu said, adding that he called back many times after that, but the “doctor” kept avoiding him and did not answer the phone. He sent the 3 boxes of medicine back to the address the “doctor” had sent him. However, only then did he discover that there was no “doctor” with that name at that address. Therefore, Mr. Niu had to accept the 3 boxes of health protection food at an exorbitant price.

Mr. Niu with some boxes of functional foods bought at "exorbitant" prices. Photo: Tien Hung

Following the phone number that Mr. Niu provided, the reporter, posing as a patient, contacted him many times. However, on the other side, although the voice was the same, sometimes he claimed to be “a doctor, an army colonel”, sometimes he claimed to be someone else. Meanwhile, according to the reporter’s investigation, the promotional videos on the internet were all fake TV stations.

Need for synchronous participation

Mr. Nuu is not the only victim in Nghe An. Recently, voters in Nghe An have petitioned the National Assembly, reflecting on the current situation of inappropriate advertising on television, especially for functional foods with medicinal effects, causing viewers to be confused about the effects of functional foods as medicine.

The Ministry of Information and Communications then responded in writing to Nghe An voters. In it, the Ministry of Information and Communications admitted that recently, on the internet, there have been many advertisements for "miracle" and "miracle" food products, exaggerating the uses and features of the products, or advertising consumer products that are lacking or of poor quality... The Ministry of Information and Communications has grasped this situation and implemented many corrective measures within the scope of its duties and powers.

Mr. Niu hopes that people will be vigilant after his lesson. Photo: Tien Hung

Specifically, in the first 6 months of 2022, the Ministry provided information on the registration subjects of 10 domain names (websites) posting illegal health food advertising information to the Department of Food Safety - Ministry of Health for investigation and handling. By suddenly inspecting 2 advertising enterprises with signs of violating regulations on health food advertising, the Information Portal of the Ministry of Information and Communications announced 25 websites that violated the law and were not allowed to post advertisements.

Recently, on the website of the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health), warnings about health protection food products advertised in violation of the law have been regularly posted. In just a short period of time, this unit has announced dozens of brands violating advertising. The Food Safety Department recommends that consumers do not base their decisions to buy and use the above products on false advertising content on the above website link because it may affect health and economy.

A fake TV commercial. Photo: Tien Hung

Foods warned of advertising violations include health protection food Hoang Huong Joint Bone Pills; health protection food OvaQ Plus; health protection food Res-1000; health protection food Again Beauty; health protection food Orihiro Nattokinase capsules; health protection food Orihiro Nattokinase 4000, 60 capsules; health protection food Ha Khiet Vuong; health protection food Phuc Nhan Quang...

Discussing this issue, Mr. Pham Ngoc Quy - Head of the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of Nghe An province said that the situation of false advertising, advertising health protection foods with effects like medicine, taking advantage of the name and reputation of medical staff and medical facilities to advertise is still widespread, affecting the rights and health of consumers. Not only that, they also impersonate Vietnam Television, Police Television, National Defense... and use the images of public figures and retired scientists to advertise functional foods with effects like medicine, especially advertising on social networking sites.

One of dozens of health food products being handled for violating advertising regulations. Photo: Tien Hung

To thoroughly handle the situation, Mr. Quy said that there needs to be synchronous participation of many ministries, branches and localities. Specifically, the Ministry of Health can recommend to the Government to amend Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety. Stricter regulations on conditions for the field of advertising of functional foods. The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to strengthen the management of e-commerce trading floors, manage multi-level marketing companies of functional foods, and have measures to monitor multi-level activities. The Ministry of Information and Communications needs to strictly handle organizations and individuals who violate the law, and at the same time, take strong measures with Facebook, Google, and Youtube, requiring them to strictly comply with Vietnam's laws on advertising. Handle advertising agencies when advertising content has not been assessed. The Ministry of Public Security should also step in to inspect and strictly handle domain name owners who advertise on social networking sites to set an example...