Be wary of the live broadcast room health care products harvesting the elderly

Buying health care products through online channels such as live broadcast rooms has become a hot thing for some elderly people. However, some live broadcast rooms are frequently chaotic when selling health care products, and the marketing "tricks" are even more difficult for the elderly to prevent.

One bottle of chewable tablets can cure four or five diseases, four boxes of tablets can make the gastric mucosa smooth, thick and elastic, and one pillow can cure many years of cervical spondylosis...... Nowadays, in some online live broadcast rooms, there are similar health care product sales tactics, attracting many elderly people with health anxiety to buy.

Some products claim to have miraculous therapeutic effects, but after checking the instructions after getting their hands, they find that they are just ordinary food; Some people claim that a course of treatment can be effective when placing an order, but later merchants change their methods to let consumers buy more; Some of the manufacturers marked on the packaging have been cancelled when they are inquired......

In 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) clearly required in the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Online Live Streaming Marketing Activities that "advertisements for medical devices and health care products shall not appear in online live broadcasts". However, in reality, some live broadcast rooms still have frequent "tricks", selling various health care products by exaggerating the effect, false propaganda and other means, making some elderly people "fall into the pit".

"Divine water" with a shelf life of up to 10 years in the live broadcast room

"A bottle of water sells for more than 1,300 yuan, and the shelf life is as long as 10 years, what kind of 'divine water' is this?" Not long ago, Guo Chang (pseudonym), a citizen of Chongqing, posted a video on the Internet about his mother's experience of shopping for health products online.

Guo Chang's mother is 69 years old this year, she has not been sleeping well, and she has some small gastrointestinal problems. When watching a live broadcast once, Guo Chang's mother bought a drinking water product. The anchor claims that drinking this water can improve sleep and regulate the stomach. After receiving the product, Guo Chang tasted it for his mother first, and his lips and tongue immediately felt a strong sour and astringent taste.

"When I saw that the bottle was not labeled with a production license, I became suspicious." Guo Chang said that he called the manufacturer on the package and received a reply: "The production license is still being applied." He also learned through the official website of the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau where the manufacturer is located that its food production license had been cancelled more than a year ago. Subsequently, he reported it to the relevant authorities. After the incident, the live broadcast room was closed, and Guo Chang's mother also received a refund.

Guo Chang recalled that since learning to shop online, his mother spent most of her time browsing various live broadcast rooms on her mobile phone, and her most enthusiastic thing was to buy some health products that claimed to treat or regulate the stomach and intestines. Last year, she also bought health care products in another live broadcast room and bought a course of treatment for 400 yuan. The anchor said that after taking it, the gastric mucosa will become smooth, thick and elastic, and there will be no more acid reflux and flatulence. However, there is no effect after taking it. It was I who strongly objected that she did not continue to make additional purchases. ”

The reporter interviewed and found that there are not a few elderly people like Guo Chang's mother who are addicted to buying health care products online in the live broadcast room. Searching for words such as "live streaming" and "health care products" on the Internet, there are many health care products with labels such as "high-tech" and "high-efficiency", ranging from daily necessities such as functional vests and energy pillows to foods such as tablet candies and solid drinks.

"Tricks" in the live broadcast room

"In the live broadcast room that sells health care products, the tricks used by the anchors also make the elderly unguardable." Guo Chang said frankly that under the offensive of various "tricks", the elderly are easy to lose the ability to distinguish fake products. For example, he said that the reason why his mother was willing to spend more than 1,300 yuan to buy a bottle of drinking water was also deceived by the titles marked on the bottle such as "won the international invention patent" and "European patent number", and thought that the product was very reliable.

A chief physician working in the geriatrics department of a tertiary hospital in Chongqing told reporters that in the process of promoting health care products, adding some so-called "academic words" and "high-end words" is the usual method of many businesses in the live broadcast room. "These words sound very professional, and it is easy to win the trust of the elderly."

"Secondly, there is a way of 'playing the side ball'." The chief physician said that when the anchor introduced the health care products, he would not directly describe the efficacy, but described as many specific conditions as possible, and said that if the above symptoms appear, there will be significant improvement after consuming such products, so as to imply that the products have therapeutic effects.

According to the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, health care products are not for the purpose of disease treatment and prevention, and there are 27 kinds of health care effects of health foods approved and accepted in the mainland, mainly for the regulation of blood lipids, blood sugar, memory, fatty liver or liver damage, etc., and most of them use words such as "auxiliary", "improved" and "promoted", rather than "treatment" and "prevention".

"The efficacy of health care products promoted by some anchors is exaggerated to the point of shocking." Ms. Yang, who lives in Chongqing's Yubei District, said that in order to prevent her parents from being deceived, she always accompanied them to watch live broadcasts. "I once saw a live broadcast room selling a 'functional necklace' health care product, and the anchor even claimed that hemiplegic patients can stand up and walk directly with a necklace, which is obviously fooling people."

In addition, Ms. Yang told reporters that in the process of watching the live broadcast with her parents, she also encountered the trick of "turning the live broadcast room into a theater, acting and hyping up and selling goods". In a live broadcast room, an anchor first told the plot of an old man relieving his pain with emotion, and halfway through the talk, he actually promoted health care products.

The most important thing for the silver-haired people to maintain their health is to nourish their hearts

According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2023, there were more than 296 million people aged 60 and above in mainland China, of which about 170 million were netizens. "From a child's point of view, it's actually a good thing that parents are willing to touch the Internet. But because there are too many 'pits', we are worried. Guo Chang's words expressed the voices of many children.

A relevant person from the Chongqing Health Service Industry Association said that the elderly understand health preservation and purchase health care products through mobile phones, which is a manifestation of actively adapting to the changes of the times, which is worthy of encouragement and affirmation. However, the important thing for the health of the silver-haired people is to nourish the heart. "Some elderly people show health anxiety, as long as they hear about the efficacy of health products, they are eager to buy and try it, this impetuous consumption mentality is not advisable." The person further said that the elderly should be clear that health care products are not medicines, let alone pin their hopes for the treatment of diseases.

The staff of the Chongqing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau reminded that when purchasing health food, it is necessary to recognize and verify whether there is a "blue hat" logo and health food approval number on the product packaging. Legal experts also reminded that elderly consumers should remain rational, do not blindly believe the anchor's introduction and advertising rhetoric, buy from legal and regular offline stores or online official flagship stores as much as possible, and ask for invoices or sales vouchers as a basis for proof and rights protection.

The reporter noticed that for some chaos in the online sale of health care products, Shanghai, Ningxia and other places have issued regulations, making it clear that medical treatment, medicine, health food, etc. are not suitable for marketing in the form of online live broadcasts. "I hope that the relevant departments will continue to increase the rectification efforts, so that there will be fewer 'pits' on the Internet, and there will be more high-quality health care products." Guo Chang said.

Source: Workers' Daily