Beware of medicine scams

By Herbert Vego

IT is already hard to tell whether the online ads in social media uphold the truth. For by believing them to be truthful, we may harm ourselves while fattening the wallets of the enterprising scammers. Let us learn from our own experiences.

Years ago, I read an ad on Facebook about the “secret” of an octogenarian physician, identified as Dr. Maria Santos, who had allegedly discovered a drug to keep her blood vessels cholesterol-free.

After reading from the same ad the “scientific data” supporting its ability to keep blood free-flowing in the arteries, I ordered the advertised medicine online and received a pack of 20 capsules two days later for P2,000.

Charge it to experience, I told myself; never again would I buy medicine online.  If it’s not available in the drug stores, it must be fake.

I must say, however, that the “word of mouth” prevalent in the so-called multi-level marketing – where a seller induces a friend to buy the product or be a seller  for extra income – could be more enticing than Facebook testimonials.

Online testimonials about various brands of deer-placenta stem cells “from New Zealand” still capture the imagination of people who dream of delaying visible signs of aging.

On a forgotten date in 2021, my salesman-friend Willie asked me to buy a well-packaged bottle of 60 capsules of the most familiar brand from New Zealand.  Though I initially refused, since it would cost me a hard-earned P20,000, Willie made a deal that we split the content and the cost of the product.

Before I knew it, I had consumed 150 capsules, making me P50,000 poorer.

Willie was less fortunate. He caught his first stroke while walking on Muelle Loney.  He survived half-paralyzed for six months but died on May 22, 2022.

We should have read earlier an old news report published by the Straits Times of Singapore on August 2, 2021,which partly said:

“A Singapore-based company, Riway, was fined $3,000 for making false claims that its health supplement product can treat or cure cancer.

“It claimed in advertisements that its flagship product, Purtier Placenta, has ‘anti-cancer effects’ and is able to ‘cure patients with diabetes‘ – assertions the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has found misleading.

“HSA said there are no verified studies that prove Purtier Placenta can cure cancer, prevent diabetes or treat complications such as poor wound healing and nerve damage.”

I also took the initiative of “googling” a June 6, 2018 advisory from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines warning against the “unapproved and misleading advertisements and promotion of Purtier Deer Placenta Plus Food Supplement monitored from various websites on the Internet.”

Then why has the FDA not sued Riway Philippines?

Ang lagay eh…

-oOo-

MORE POWER REPRESENTED IN THAILAND

MORE Power President Roel Z. Castro is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the Iloilo City’s distribution utility keeps pace with the modern times.

He sent two employees to Bangkok, Thailand to represent the company in an environmental convention toward a cleaner renewable energy.  They are Dave Daprinal and Chad Ceballos.

They came back in time to appear on the “More Power at Your Service” radio-video program hosted by Joy Fantilaga.

An important discussion in that gathering focused on the future of “AI drones” in trouble-shooting of transmission and distribution faults. AI means “artificial intelligence”.

“These drones do not need human manipulation,” Ceballos said. “They are programmed to respond automatically to emergencies.  They have high zoom magnification that could see explosions or flash fires.  They have thermal scanner that can detect hot spots and potential fires.”

Daprinal, on the other hand, enthused that the Bangkok trip was a timely opportunity for them to gain deeper knowledge on underground cabling, which MORE Power is currently undertaking at J.M. Basa Street.

“Our host country,” he said referring to Thailand, “is no stranger to modern underground cabling. They see to it that underground cables are insulated with polymer, hence rust-free.”