Toothpaste is not a medicine, don't believe in exaggerated publicity, rational purchase is the key.
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an announcement, saying that from April to November 2024, a special action for advertising supervision in the field of people's livelihood will be organized nationwide, including strict investigation of the marketing and hype of toothpaste products with gimmicks such as "repairing caries" and "anti-Helicobacter pylori".
Food and Drug Administration reminds: toothpaste is not medicine!
As early as a few years ago, whether toothpaste can fight Helicobacter pylori has caused waves of heated discussions.
Helicobacter pylori is one of the risk factors for gastric cancer, and it has been the object of everyone's attention and prevention in recent years. In 2023, the Institute of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other units released a white paper on "Prevention and Control of Helicobacter pylori Infection in China", pointing out that the infection rate of Helicobacter pylori among mainland residents is nearly 50%.
Helicobacter pylori is a spiral-shaped, slightly anaerobic, very demanding bacteria with very demanding growth conditions, and it is also the only known microbial species that can survive in the human stomach. Helicobacter pylori has a protective film on its surface that allows it to survive in the mucus layer of the stomach.
Later studies found that Helicobacter pylori not only parasitizes the gastric mucosa, but also grows in the mouth, especially in high levels of dental plaque, and one of the most prominent manifestations of infection with this bacterium is stubborn bad breath. Perhaps it was this factor that many merchants took the opportunity to seize the pain points of patients at that time and launched a variety of "anti-ghost" toothpastes, which were widely popular in the market.
In fact, various popular science has pointed out that toothpaste has no effect on Helicobacter pylori in the stomach, and it is still necessary to take medicine to treat Helicobacter pylori.
What's even more "outrageous" is that some so-called toothpaste products on the market at that time claimed to have the effects of "promoting children's teeth", "repairing tooth cavities", "closing gaps between teeth", "stabilizing loose teeth", and even "regenerating teeth". In response to these market chaos, on July 5, 2022, the National Medical Products Administration issued a document clearly pointing out that toothpaste is not a medicine, cannot treat diseases, and does not have the effects of the above claims.
What benefits can toothpaste advertise?
In fact, the relevant departments have long had clear restrictions on the efficacy of toothpaste.
The Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics, which came into effect on January 1, 2021, stipulate that toothpaste shall be managed with reference to the provisions of ordinary cosmetics; After the efficacy evaluation of toothpaste is carried out in accordance with national standards and industry standards, it can be claimed to have the effects of anti-caries, anti-plaque, anti-dentin sensitivity, and alleviation of gum problems.
In March 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation officially issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste, which will be fully regulated with reference to cosmetics, which will come into force on December 1, 2023.
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste stipulate that "toothpaste shall not express or imply that it has a medical effect, and shall not make false or misleading claims of efficacy." At the same time, it is also emphasized that "the efficacy claim evaluation of toothpaste should comply with laws, regulations, mandatory national standards, technical specifications and the relevant requirements of the quality safety and efficacy claim evaluation stipulated by the State Drug Administration, so as to ensure the scientificity, accuracy and reliability of the efficacy claim evaluation results." ”
After the announcement issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, "Consumer Reports" searched on a number of well-known e-commerce online shopping platforms and found that some sellers were carrying out marketing behaviors that were suspected of "rubbing the edges".
Some sellers have changed the name of the toothpaste slightly, "anti-pylori" to "pylori", or changed "pylorus" to "pylori", and some "Helicobacter pylori" on the packaging of some toothpaste are partially obscured, suspected of trying to draw a line with "anti-Helicobacter pylori". Some toothpaste products have the highest cumulative sales of more than 100,000 pieces.
In addition, there are also sellers who claim on the product introduction page that "deep to the pylorus" or "drive away the pyloric cavity" and so on.
There are also several sellers labeling the "Nanjing Tong Ren Tang" brand, all of which are selling a toothpaste called "Helicobacter pylori oral antibacterial cream".
The reporter found the customer service of one of them and asked if it could kill Helicobacter pylori, and the customer service replied "No", and the reporter asked if it could inhibit Helicobacter pylori, and the customer service replied "Yes in the mouth, and medicine in the stomach and intestines".
The reporter searched the official website of Nanjing Tongrentang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and found that there were no toothpaste products for sale in the product display column. In view of the fact that there is a lot of information about the brand authorization of Nanjing Tong Ren Tang on the Internet, the reporter left a message on the official website page of Nanjing Tong Ren Tang, asking whether the toothpaste sold online is officially authorized and whether there is a publicized Helicobacter pylori antibacterial effect, but no reply has been received before the deadline.
The doctor has something to say
Are these various products effective? What are the consequences for consumers? With these questions in mind, Consumer Reports interviewed Xu Tongkai, a dentist at Peking University School of Stomatology. Dr. Xu said that the current more common treatment for Helicobacter pylori is quadruple therapy, which requires taking four drugs to sterilize the stomach, and it is definitely not reliable to rely on toothbrushing.
Taking a "Helicobacter pylori oral antibacterial cream" as an example, its main active ingredient is chlorhexidine acetate, which is an ingredient commonly used in mouthwashes, which can treat oral mucositis, pharyngitis, gingivitis, etc., but together with other ingredients, it cannot be used to treat Helicobacter pylori infection in the human body. Dr. Xu also pointed out that this kind of "antibacterial cream" does not belong to toothpaste at all, and it can be seen from the test report of the product that the product has not undergone clinical trials, and the risk of long-term use in the oral cavity is uncertain, and the product is a "elimination number", which does not have any curative effect, and belongs to the category of sanitary disinfection products. "In other words, this product can be placed in the same category as 84 disinfectant, but if the seller sells it as toothpaste, it is to fool consumers." Dr. Koh said.
Regarding the claims of some merchants that toothpaste can repair caries, repair tooth cavities, and close gaps between teeth, Dr. Xu said that this is contrary to science. Dr. Koh explained that the most effective, safe and low-cost way to protect the hard tissues of the teeth is to use fluoride toothpaste, and some calcium-containing toothpastes can also form a mineral protective layer on the surface of the teeth, which can enhance the resistance of the teeth to corrosion. However, these toothpastes are only suitable for early intervention, and if they develop into tooth decay, they can only go to the hospital for treatment.
In fact, the State Food and Drug Administration has also reminded consumers that oral diseases such as dental caries should be prevented, and it is recommended to maintain good oral hygiene habits and eating habits, conduct regular oral examinations, rationally choose toothpaste products, and do not believe in the false propaganda that toothpaste can treat oral diseases.
What do lawyers say?
These products that want to draw a line with "anti-ghost" seem to be more or less mentioning "anti-ghost" in their publicity, will this cause some misleading to consumers? Article 17 of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that except for advertisements for medical treatment, drugs and medical devices, it is forbidden for any other advertisements to involve disease treatment functions, and medical terms shall not be used or terms that are easy to confuse the promoted goods with drugs and medical devices. The seller's change of advertising terms to "pylori" toothpaste, "Helicobacter pylori oral antibacterial cream", or to "anti-pylorio", or claims to "deep pyloric removal", "drive away pyloric oral cavity", etc., are all terms that promote the medical efficacy of the product.
Lawyer Ouyang Yipeng added that consumers can ask the dealer to provide a functional evaluation report when purchasing functional toothpaste. If you accidentally purchase a non-compliant product, in addition to returning the product, you can also have other ways to protect your rights, such as filing a complaint with the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, which will order you to stop publishing advertisements, fine, revoke your business license and other penalties according to the circumstances, or require the advertiser to bear civil liability in accordance with the law through litigation.