"Anti-ghost toothpaste" cannot cure the fear of talking about "ghost" discoloration

Wen | Weichen

"Anti-ghost toothpaste" has appeared again, from the toothpaste of "makeup size" to the medical cold compress gel of "mechanical size".

A recent media investigation found that in a large e-commerce platform, a number of merchants sell products with outer packaging as "medical cold compress gel" but advertised as "oral HP toothpaste", which are marked with the trademark of "Baiyun mountain Guangyao Big Health Product Yingkang Pharmaceutical".

The vague "HP" of the merchant is the recent fire of Helicobacter pylori. About a month ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the 15th edition of the Carcinogens Report, and chronic H. pylori infection was listed as a definitive carcinogen. Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that colonizes the stomach and can cause gastritis and peptic ulcers, which are mainly transmitted through the mouth-to-mouth route. On the mainland, the infection rate is as high as 59% due to the influence of the family meal sharing system.

Although it is listed as a carcinogen is "Helicobacter pylori chronic infection" rather than "Helicobacter pylori", and not all infected people will develop stomach cancer, there are still merchants who smell business opportunities and concoct seemingly scientific rumors that "using 'anti-ghost toothpaste' can prevent stomach cancer", and "anti-ghost toothpaste" is selling well.

On January 7, the State Drug Administration issued the "Toothpaste Cannot Treat Diseases" to debunk rumors, bluntly saying that toothpaste claims that "anti-Helicobacter pylori" lack scientific basis. The post is not only a reminder to consumers, but also means that the regulator has noticed the false publicity of merchants, and a new round of wrestling has escalated.

Toothpaste is managed with reference to the provisions of ordinary cosmetics, and cannot be claimed to have therapeutic, bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects; while medical cold compress gels are medical devices and must not contain beauty, health care and other indications. "Toothpaste" confuses the boundaries between the two, implying that cosmetics have a medical effect and is a typical illegal publicity behavior.

In view of the confusion in the naming and efficacy of toothpaste, the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste (Draft for Comments) has further clarified the differences between toothpaste and cosmetics management, and eliminated regulatory blind spots as much as possible.

More importantly, the official timely debunking of rumors does not prevent the product from selling hot, and the "ghostly" discoloration psychology behind the consumption behavior needs to be guided through popular science education. Merchants create fear first, and then recommend that consumers buy products that "prevent things from happening" to eliminate fear. For consumers, behavioral choices based on full understanding can effectively eliminate the fear of the unknown and avoid falling into the marketing trap of business fear.

【Author】 Yang Yue

Southern Review