We employ health products almost every day to ensure we are clean and healthy. They promise everything from making our hair shinier to brightening our smile. Most of the oral hygiene-conscious amongst us rinse with a mouthwash product regularly. Some of us use them in the belief that they protect our gums as much as they protect our teeth. Given the everyday nature of these products, it came as a surprise to learn these products do not do all they claim to do.
More than two weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration sent out warning letters to three companies who manufacture mouth rinse products — Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures Listerine Mouthwash, CVS Corporation, which manufactures CVS Complete Care Mouthwash, and Walgreen Company, which manufactures Walgreen Mouth Rinse. The companies claimed their products promote healthy gums and removes plaque above gum lines. While the FDA determined the products could indeed help prevent cavities, they could not determine if the products could help prevent gum diseases.
If the FDA could not determine that the products provide the benefits they claim to provide, then it is clearly a case of false advertising. Extrapolation of the existing benefits, without sufficient proof, still counts as misleading the customers. And as the statistics on the FDA website shows, false advertising is by no means an isolated incident. In more serious cases of health-related false advertising, this could lead to potentially harmful effects for the users of the product, and can be the basis of law suits and public relations disasters for the manufacturer. A closer working relationship between the marketing and research/development branches of the company need to be developed to avoid these problems from the very outset. With the research/development branch verifying the product can indeed provide the benefits claimed in the advertisement, the customer’s safety and the company’s success are protected.
As members of a campus community, it means you need to be even more vigilant while purchasing and using products, especially if they are related to your health and well being. While purchasing anything other than widely used and trusted medicines, even if they are over the counter, make sure to read the fine print. If you notice that an item is primarily based on a particular chemical compound, it would not take a lot of effort to Google and see if it has known side effects, even if nothing is mentioned in the product carton. Above all, keep in mind that advertisements are just that – a statement of benefits you “may” receive on using the product. They are not, by any means, rock solid guarantees that you would receive those benefits without doubt.