The activities of celebrities promoting supplements allegedly treating diseases are no different from the actions of shamans or charlatans – Dr. Jerzy Kosikowski from the Supreme Medical Chamber told PAP. The Ministry of Health estimates that pseudomedical activities run from several to several thousand people or entities.
– The only difference between celebrities and Szrlatans is that the former do it more professionally and are recognizable. This snowball has been going on for a long time, because supplements have been sold by celebrities for years, and now it just turned out that this is a really huge business, because Poles are drugs and supplementomaniacs. And there may be anything in the supplement, nobody examines it, it is really food sold online – he explained.
On Monday, July 14, trainer Ewa Chodakowska announced the end of cooperation with the Diagnostyka company. This decision was made after a wave of criticism, which fell on the test packages promoted by the influencer, supposedly helping to diagnose endometriosis. Negative comments appeared from both doctors, foundations and Internet users.
Earlier, in May this year, Dorota Rabczewska attracted the attention of the public. In the recording published on the network, the singer claimed that thanks to supplementation and a proper diet she managed to “heal” Hashimoto's disease. On June 11, Wirtualna Polska announced that the prosecutor's office was investigating the advertising of supplements promoted by Rabczewska. The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector made a notification in this matter.
Both stars are just examples from the long list of famous people who use their reach to promote supplements, medicines or tests – despite the lack of adequate educationwhich would allow them to reliably assess the effectiveness of advertised products.
Kosikowski, when asked by PAP about the possible consequences of such cases, emphasized that with the current regulations of the institution's actions they are ad hoc – “from fire to fire”.
As for the future of such matters, the light in the tunnel is the so -called Lex Szybka, i.e. a draft amendment to the Act on patient rights and the Patient Rights Ombudsman. This is the only thing that can cause some people to think about whether they want to practice such circuses, otherwise it can't be called – he noted.
In June, a draft amendment to the Patient Rights Act, prepared by the Ministry of Health and the Patient Rights Ombudsman, was sent to public consultation. It is to regulate issues of pseudo -medical practices and counteract medical disinformation.
The Ministry of Health reported in June that he estimated that pseudo -medical activity can conduct from several to several thousand people or entities.
PAP Justyna Pronobis-Rszczylik, a clinical psychologist, psychodynamic psychotherapist told PAP so easily about why people believe in the advice of influencers. She explained that in the case of patients who are accompanied by anxiety associated with the disease, defense mechanisms can start to avoid painful thoughts and emotions. As a result, they become more susceptible to simple, but not necessarily effective solutions proposed by influencers. “Avoiding reality blocks the development and deepens the patient's suffering,” she emphasized. The patients are often accompanied by anxiety, which weakens our vigilance and the ability to make conscious choices. A high level of anxiety means that we lose a sense of responsibility for our health – the expert added.
As explained by Oskar February, partner-founder of the Fairfield office, specializing in legal advice, among others For pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and doctors, drugs and supplements are subject to separate legal regulations. A common element of both of these regulations is, above all, a ban on misleading by means of advertising.
– With dietary supplements, a field for a dishonest entrepreneur is much widerbecause much more can be said false things about a supplement than about the drug – described the lawyer. – People, however, know that the drug is used for treatment and this misleading can mainly affect parameters, i.e. what this drug treats, how quickly it treats, how effective it is. However, with the supplement we can tell really uncommon stories.
When asked about the obligations of the advertiser and celebrities in the advertisement of medicines or supplements, Oskar Luty emphasized that it is key whether the celebrity works in a commercial relationship with the owner of the brand or product, or not.
– If the person whom we call a celebrity, apart from the business context, of his own will and completely autonomous presents personal opinions about a product, including a dietary supplement or medicine, is under the protection of the constitutional freedom of freedom of expression. We cannot take people to present their opinion in public. However, if these opinions are or commercial context, then specific restrictions apply due to the protection of the interests of other people, and the scope of constitutional freedom is narrower – the lawyer explained.
In his opinion, if the influencer conducts advertising activities at the request of the business entity, then the advertiser is responsible for what he will say and in the field of advertising. – So, for example, the advertiser tells the celebrity: Listen, now tell about this supplement that he works great for bone pain, and the celebrity performs these findings and disseminates the information that she took a specific supplement, is great, it is great, it works brilliantly on bone pain, etc. Responsibility for such advertising activities is legally charged by the company that commissioned the advertisement – described the advertisement.
Influencer may also be legal responsibility for his business.
– Many laws, including the Act on combating unfair competition or the Act on education in sobriety and counteracting alcoholism, gives grounds for assigning responsibility for advertising communication also contractors, i.e. advertising agency, celebrity, etc. In turn, the legal regime of advertising of medicines or medical devices imposes strict responsibility for each advertisement for each advertisement.
The lawyer noted that yet another important issue is the so -called Compentral – That is, the situation when the sender of the message (e.g. influencer) hides the connection with his advertiser or business context, i.e. does not reveal that he has any commercial interest and does not mean his message in a way clearly for recipients.
– This is a statement that misleads by suggesting that it is neutral information. It is unlawful and in such a situation the influencer corresponds legally – explained February.
In 2022, the President of UOKiK issued recommendations in which great emphasis is placed on distinguishing messages and informing recipients about what is advertising. Less than a year later, the President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny, imposed a total of over PLN 5 million penalties for incorrect marking of materials. In turn, in March this year. A message about punishment for incorrect designation of advertising materials on Instagram was published, the president of UOKiK Filip Chajzer, Dorota Rabczewska and Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan. This time the total amount of penalties amounted to almost half a million PLN.
The lawyer also referred to the words of dr. Kosikowski, who pointed out that the fight against commercials of supplements to treat various diseases was “extinguishing fire behind fire.” – Medical self -government bodies do not have competence at all to combat dishonest drug ads, or dietary supplements, unless they are conducted by doctors, which is rare. When it comes to state authorities, I am of the opinion that it is often a fight with windmills – he described.
As February noted, there are thousands of influencers in the Polish sphere, which prevents effective combating of incorrect communication of each person. In addition, influencer may be elusive and broadcast from another country, which limits the practical range of Polish organs. Just like in the case of Kourtney Kardashian, an American millionaire who in September last year. She launched dietary supplements, Lemme GLP-1 Daily, which were supposed to act as a medicine for slimming.
What is now a huge problem with which we can do something is the so -called Adverter and cryptors in lifestyle magazines – noted February. – that is, ads hidden in the form of interviews or statements that appear thousands of a year. If we open any newspaper, we will find an unmarked advertisement in it.
The lawyer emphasized that the Advertorials and their illegality were talked a lot in 2004-2008, but only individual cases were fought. – And we have thousands of it, if not tens of thousands a year. We focus on influencers today, because it is something new, but we cannot cope with the phenomenon of the Advertenia, which have been present in our space for decades – he concluded.
According to the lawyer, it is much more important to educate people. – I would like to emphasize that this is my personal view, not as a lawyer, but as a citizen. At the stage of primary school, we should explain to people how mechanisms of influence work, how they can verify information on the Internet and filter messages. You need to teach the defense society against such advertisements, because fighting this with repressive methods will be very difficult – he noted. – And I say it as a teacher: children should not necessarily be in memory of historical dates in a situation where no one teaches them how to deal with digital reality and how much distance you have to approach it. And such education would be the best means of prevention, better than hundreds of penalties – he emphasized.
Agata Gutowska (PAP)
AGG/ BST/ MOW/
