DOH wants to stop scammers using celeb images for illegal med promotions | Inquirer News

DOH wants to stop scammers using celeb images for illegal med promotions

By: - Reporter / @JMangaluzINQ
/ 04:34 PM July 04, 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health (DOH) Chief Teodoro Herbosa said on Tuesday that he would instruct the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to work with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to crack down on scammers exploiting celebrity visuals for unregistered medicine endorsements.

The move follows Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s Senate Resolution 666, which seeks to probe the use of famous personalities to create endorsements for fake medicines deceptively.

“I’ve seen this on social media, many of my friends, my doctor friends, who are popular, have been victimized for drugs that they did not endorse, using their photos taken out of social media. These are really the scammers, so this is under the realm of, in DOH, this under the realm of FDA—Food and Drug Administration. They’re a regulatory body with police powers. So I will instruct the head of FDA Sam Zacate to actually coordinate with the NBI to get to the bottom of this,” said Herbosa in a press briefing in Malacañang.

ADVERTISEMENT

Herbosa listed doctors Willie Ong and Tony Leachon as victims of these scams, saying that they have filed cases with the NBI’s Cybercrime division, but the ads would only temporarily disappear and resurface again.

FEATURED STORIES

“The first thing that I will advise to our citizens is to make sure that the drugs that they will procure or buy will have an FDA approval,” warned Herbosa in a mix of English and Filipino.

Estrada had cited products like Grandsure Gold, Glufarelin, and Golden Gout Colostrum among those using fake celebrity endorsements.

“Social media accounts of the abovementioned unregistered products are viewed and even shared by thousands of consumers, providing them with inaccurate and false information about the efficacy, quality, and safety of the food, drugs, and health products,” said Estrada.

RELATED STORIES

Senate probe of fake online ads of unregistered food, drugs pushed

Willie Ong warns against fake ‘miracle food’ ads using his name

je/abc
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: DoH, fake medicines

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.