As some TV commercials offer cures from baldness to serious illnesses, many viewers are sold the dream, Amira El-Naqeeb investigates a circle of deception In the commercial break of a movie, an ad pops up where a man is holding a baby. One second later, the baby disappears from his arms. The whole theme revolves around childless parents, and as tears roll from his eyes, he takes a yellow pill. After 21 days, he is congratulated . His wife is pregnant. While many people are immediately sceptical of such offers, many desperate souls are willing to opt for any solution to their medical problems. Hundreds of these ads that offer cures starting from hair loss to impotence and fertility problems are being aired everyday. As these are sensitive issues, it is very natural to get emotional watching these ads. "We are emotional people, and all these ads play on that nerve. Sometimes they go the extra mile of using a Quranic verse," said Abdel-Hadi Musbah, medical consultant of immunology and fellow of the American Academy of Immunology. Ads for cosmetic purposes are giving another kind of erroneous hope. Beautiful girls flaunting their flawless hair: "my appearance is the most important thing in my life," said one of the models in the ad. These kinds of TV commercials concentrate mostly on how having great hair can be life-altering for both men and women, and also use images of bald men, comparing them before and after they get their hair back. Suzan Salem, a dermatologist, has encountered some cases where people used phony creams that were advertised on TV. "The patients I examined used creams that allegedly treat hair loss. They did not witness any progress, though there was no harm done," she said. However, she urges that these products must be regulated. "We don't have to wait till the damage is done." On the official level, Mohamed Salaheddin, of the Ministry of Health and Population, argues that the ministry's campaigns on these advertisers started in 2001. One major challenge the ministry faced was that there was never an address for these manufacturing companies. Salaheddin recalls an incident two years ago where they caught a doctor saying that he discovered a cure for hepatitis C. "The medicine was neither registered in the Ministry of Health nor sold in the pharmacies, so we closed his facility," he said. The steps for any medication to be legalised are clear. According to Salaheddin, it has to be licensed from the pharmaceutical administration in the ministry. Consequently it will have a registration number, the ingredients, expiry date, dosage, the name and the address of the manufacturing company written on the box. Nevertheless, there is a responsibility shared by both the consumer and the media advertising products that don't have a licence. "The consumer must be aware before using any medicine and the media should refrain from advertising any bogus products, regardless of the profit," said Salaheddin. He continues that the Ministry of Health tried to address the Higher Council for Journalism several times to stop printed ads unless they are licensed from the Ministry of Health. "They should help increase the awareness of the consumer, rather than opening the door for frauds," he conceded. Ismail Ibrahim, part-time media professor, and deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the impact of the ads on consumers is relative, depending on their cultural and social level. The economic status, he continues, is another factor that can have both a negative and a positive influence on the viewer. "Most of the influence occurs among low income social classes. Well off, and highly educated people go to famous doctors, and buy expensive products," Ibrahim explained. Yet Salaheddin confesses that their hands are tied. "We can't take action unless a complaint is filed by the consumer." A woman came forward once, he recalls, filing a complaint that her son used a cream from one of the anonymous beauty centres that seriously damaged his skin. "In that case she took us to the beauty centre, and we took the owner to the prosecutor- general's office," he said. Salaheddin also said that on several occasions they tried to track down some of the advertising companies, calling them up, and try to buy the product. At the meeting only a delegate who knows nothing about the manufacturing company shows up. A number of shop keepers said that they refrain from buying such products. They explained that since they are not licensed, they never know whether there will be a demand for them or not. Also they were scared to "get in trouble" with the police. The most pressing question is why people put their own lives at risk putting their trust in these products. In Musbah's opinion "people escape conventional medicine because they believe that these phony medicines have no side effects, because the advertiser claims it is 100 per cent herbal." There are two kinds of diseases -- controllable diseases like rheumatoid, and chronic diseases like diabetes. "Patients with chronic diseases are hopeless, and are eager for anything with a radical effect." Salah Mosallam, consultant in gynaecology, fertility and obstetrics at the Educational Hospital of Banha, said that some unlicensed medicines can have irreparable damage on people. "In the rural parts of Egypt, many people tend to rely on these kinds of so-called medicines." Mosallam argued that he has treated many patients that suffered from medicine poisoning and menstrual and ovulation disorders after using some of the advertised tablets. Also some wives complained that their husbands had erectile problems after using one of the "famous" tablets that is advertised constantly on TV. "These things are serious, because they use hormones and since the bottle usually doesn't have a leaflet, we don't know the sources, or the ingredients." he said. "The consequences could be deadly," Mosallam told the Weekly. Though honey is known to help cure many diseases, it can't be prescribed to all since it fails with some illnesses, like diabetes. "Housewives are a main target for advertisers, especially in less privileged societies, where morning TV is the favoured by advertisers." During this period, housewives use TV for entertainment while working in the kitchen, and are always on the lookout for the most economical products. Ibrahim's advice for consumers is that they should remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
