‘Bust oil’ and other bogus claims

Irrational, useless and even dangerous drugs flood the market. A certain company’s rubs and iodide products for local application do business worth crores of rupees every year in India. Both multinational and Indian companies are involved in such practices. Since we do not raise objections, the manufacturers keep pushing new products to cheat consumers.

Initially, these tricks were restricted to what was sold as medicines. Recently, cosmetic products have been launched with advertisements that make false claims. Though vitamin E is not absorbed through the skin, soaps, creams, oils and lotions advertise vitamin E as an ingredient. Hair is just a dead extension of the hair follicle and its quality cannot be affected by external applications; even then products in the market promise to improve hair growth and retard greying.

With the entry of international brands in the Indian market, useless health drinks, herbal tea, nutritional supplements and breakfast cereals lure customers with the false promise of improving health. Buyers are lured by the nutritional and calorie content charts presented in stylish print and catchy formats. These products contain iron, calcium, minerals, trace elements or vitamins, but only in sub-therapeutic quantities. Such nutrients are present in larger quantities in the normal Indian diet.

Recently, the FDA in Mumbai raided a ‘herbal’ tea distributor. An analysis found the ‘herbal tea’ to be ordinary tea sold in fancy packaging for a high price. Because there are takers, there are sellers.

Recently, certain newspapers and magazines carried colourful advertisements for ‘bust oil’. Among the claims made about the oil is that ‘it keeps the breast toned up, it is needed by almost all age groups, it gives firmer, younger and tighter breasts,’ and so on. Efforts must be made to counter such false and unethical advertisements.