Health supplement products have been sprouting almost everywhere with their frequent advertisements especially on the radios with testimonials that their products are truly effective and can cure diseases which never thought of.
The health supplement companies have been using the "no approved therapeutic claims" tag for their products on their advertisements, but unfortunately, even I don't know the meaning of it unlike the government's warning against the use of cigarettes which is easy to understand.
Though it is short, not all of us know what it means. Does it mean that it's therapeutic claims are not approved? Who approves it? What are therapeutic claims?
I applauded the move of then Department of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral when she issued an administrative order to change it into: "Important notice: The product is not medicine and is not to be used for treating diseases." or in Filipino "Mahalagang paalaala: Ang (name of product) ay hindi dapat gamiting panggamot sa anumang uri ng sakit." which is more understandable to the greater public. After that, health supplement companies were raged by the order and immediately lashed out Cabral for her move. For them, it was like committing suicide on their own products. It was just to make the public know that what they are selling is not a medicine and only a supplement. Their consumers have been disillusioned that once you intake and maintain the health supplement, it can already substitute your very expensive medicine. That's already deception.
Although there have already been products that adhered to the order, there are still those especially online who continue the practice to misinform more and more people. I hope the Department of Health can also extend their campaign on these health supplement products that are being advertised online especially on Facebook where you are tagged by a photo of that health supplement product.
Then there's also these artists who promote the product that they even don't know just for the talent fee. Now, with an "artista" touch on the health supplement product, more and more people will be enticed to buy it. The more these companies misinform people, the more money they make. I hope they have some conscience left at least a bit. I know a certain person who was taking a health supplement product only to find out that it was not helping after all and instead, it complicated his health problem. He didn't knew that he was taking in a substance from that product that he should have been avoiding. Now, he has already recovered and I hope the number of people being deceived by these would lessen and eventually to nil.
Let's always remember that these are just supplements, not medicines. Don't be fooled!
The health supplement companies have been using the "no approved therapeutic claims" tag for their products on their advertisements, but unfortunately, even I don't know the meaning of it unlike the government's warning against the use of cigarettes which is easy to understand.
Though it is short, not all of us know what it means. Does it mean that it's therapeutic claims are not approved? Who approves it? What are therapeutic claims?
I applauded the move of then Department of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral when she issued an administrative order to change it into: "Important notice: The product is not medicine and is not to be used for treating diseases." or in Filipino "Mahalagang paalaala: Ang (name of product) ay hindi dapat gamiting panggamot sa anumang uri ng sakit." which is more understandable to the greater public. After that, health supplement companies were raged by the order and immediately lashed out Cabral for her move. For them, it was like committing suicide on their own products. It was just to make the public know that what they are selling is not a medicine and only a supplement. Their consumers have been disillusioned that once you intake and maintain the health supplement, it can already substitute your very expensive medicine. That's already deception.
Although there have already been products that adhered to the order, there are still those especially online who continue the practice to misinform more and more people. I hope the Department of Health can also extend their campaign on these health supplement products that are being advertised online especially on Facebook where you are tagged by a photo of that health supplement product.
Then there's also these artists who promote the product that they even don't know just for the talent fee. Now, with an "artista" touch on the health supplement product, more and more people will be enticed to buy it. The more these companies misinform people, the more money they make. I hope they have some conscience left at least a bit. I know a certain person who was taking a health supplement product only to find out that it was not helping after all and instead, it complicated his health problem. He didn't knew that he was taking in a substance from that product that he should have been avoiding. Now, he has already recovered and I hope the number of people being deceived by these would lessen and eventually to nil.
Let's always remember that these are just supplements, not medicines. Don't be fooled!
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