Original title: "Shenshui" with more than 1300 yuan has a shelf life of up to 10 years. It was found after arrival that the manufacturer's production license has been cancelled (quotation)

How can health care products in the broadcast room "harvest" the elderly? Subject

Worker's Daily - Huang Shiqiang, reporter of China Industrial Network

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Buying health care products through online channels such as the live broadcast room has become a hot topic for some elderly people. However, some of the live broadcast booths are often confused when selling health care products, and marketing "tricks" are 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 cervical spondylosis for many years... Now, in some webcasts, there are similar sales methods of health care products, attracting many elderly people with health concerns to buy.

Some products claim to have miraculous therapeutic effects, but after checking the instructions, they found that they are just ordinary food; Some people claim that a course of treatment can be effective when placing an order, but later businesses have changed ways to let consumers buy more; Some of the manufacturers marked on the package have been cancelled when inquiring

In 2020, the State Market Supervision and Administration of the People's Republic of China specified in the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Online Live Broadcasting Marketing Activities that "no advertising of medical devices and health care products shall appear in online live broadcasting". However, in reality, some live broadcast rooms still frequently use "tricks" to sell various health products by exaggerating the effect, false propaganda and other means, making some elderly people "fall into the trap".

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

"A bottle of water sells for more than 1300 yuan and has a shelf life of 10 years. What kind of" divine water "is it?" Not long ago, Guo Chang (a pseudonym), a Chongqing citizen, posted a video on the Internet, telling about his mother's experience of online shopping for health care products.

Guo Chang's mother, 69 years old, has been sleeping badly and has some small gastrointestinal problems. When watching the live broadcast, Guo Chang's mother bought a drinking water product. The anchor claimed that drinking this water can improve sleep and recuperate the intestines and stomach. After receiving the product, Guo Chang took a first taste for his mother, and immediately felt a strong sour taste on his lips and tongue.

"When I saw that the bottle was not marked with a production license, I became suspicious." Guo Chang said that he called the manufacturer's phone number on the package and got a reply: "The production license is still being applied for.". He also learned from the official website of the Market Supervision Administration where the manufacturer is located that its food production license had been cancelled more than a year ago. Subsequently, he reported to the relevant departments. Later, the studio was closed and Guo Chang's mother received a refund.

Guo Chang recalled that since she learned to shop online, her mother spent most of her time in various live broadcast booths on her mobile phone, and her favorite thing was to buy some health products that claimed to be able to treat or recuperate the gastrointestinal tract. "Last year, she also bought health care products in another live broadcast room, and spent 400 yuan to buy a course of treatment. The anchor said that after taking it, the gastric mucosa would become smooth, thick and elastic, and no longer sour and bloated. However, after taking it, there was no effect. I strongly opposed it, so she did not continue to buy more."

The reporter found that there are many elderly people like Guo Chang's mother who are addicted to online health care products in the live broadcast room. Search online for words such as "live broadcast with goods" and "health care products". There are many health care products with labels such as "high-tech" and "high-efficient", ranging from functional vests, energy pillows and other daily necessities, to tablet candy, solid drinks and other foods.

"Tricks" in the studio

"In the live broadcast room where health care products are sold, the tactics used by the anchors also make the elderly vulnerable." Guo Chang said frankly that under the attack of various "tricks", the elderly are likely to lose their ability to identify fake products. For example, he said that the reason why his mother was willing to spend more than 1300 yuan to buy a bottle of drinking water was also deceived by the "international invention patent", "European patent number" and other titles marked on the bottle body, and thought that the product was very reliable.

A chief physician working in the department of geriatrics of a tertiary A hospital in Chongqing told the reporter that adding some so-called "academic words" and "high-end words" in the process of promoting health care products is a common practice of many live broadcast studios. "These words sound professional and easy to win the trust of the elderly."

"Secondly, there is another way to 'play the side game'." The chief physician said that when the anchor introduced the health care products, he did not directly describe the efficacy, but described as many specific conditions as possible, and said that if the above symptoms occur, the consumption of such products can be significantly improved, suggesting that the products have therapeutic effects.

According to the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, health products do not aim at disease treatment and prevention. There are 27 kinds of health effects of health foods approved and accepted in China, mainly for the regulation of blood lipids, blood sugar, memory, fatty liver or liver injury, and most of them use words such as "assist", "improve", "promote", rather than "treat", "prevent", etc.

"Some anchors exaggerated the efficacy of health care products to a shocking extent." Ms. Yang, who lives in Yubei District, Chongqing, said that in order to prevent her parents from being cheated, she always accompanied them to watch the live broadcast. "Once I saw a health care product called" functional necklace "being sold in a live broadcast room. The anchor even claimed that the hemiplegic patients could stand up and walk directly with the necklace, which was obviously a hoax."

In addition, Ms. Yang told the reporter that when she watched the live broadcast with her parents, she also met the trick of "changing the live broadcast room into a theater, and hyping and selling products". In a live broadcast room, an anchor first told the story of an old man relieving his pain with both voice and emotion, and then he even promoted health care products in the middle of the story.

The most important thing for silver haired people to keep in good health is to nourish their heart

The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that by the end of 2023, China's population aged 60 and above will exceed 296 million, of which about 170 million are Internet users. "From the perspective of being a child, it is actually a good thing that parents are willing to contact the Internet. But because there are too many 'pits', we are worried." Guo Chang said, expressing the feelings of many children.

Relevant people from Chongqing Health Service Industry Association said that the elderly learn about health care and purchase health care products through mobile phones, which is the performance of actively adapting to the changes of the times and is worth encouraging and affirming. However, the most important thing for silver haired people to keep in good health is to nourish their heart. "Some elderly people show health anxiety. As long as they hear about the efficacy of health care products, they are eager to buy them. This impetuous consumption mentality is not desirable." The person further said that the elderly should know that health care products are not drugs, let alone hope to treat diseases.

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

The reporter noticed that Shanghai, Ningxia and other places have issued regulations on the chaos of online health care products, making it clear that medical treatment, drugs, health food, etc. are not suitable for online live marketing. "It is hoped that relevant departments will continue to strengthen the rectification efforts, so that there will be fewer 'pits' on the network and more high-quality health care products," said Guo Chang.