World Consumer Day on March 15 - Unethical drug promotion

The theme for the World Consumer Day for this year is “Unethical Drug Promotion”. Drug Promotion is normal and is being practised vigorously by multi national companies.

This is a money spinner. It is an industry with the largest profit margins all over the world. Drugs is needed for healthy living to cure diseases, thereby not only for human beings, even the animals looked after by human beings are at the mercy of the Drug Companies.

Drug Promotion is implemented in various ways. It is done by vigorous advertising via the media with the help of Doctors, Organisations etc by way of projects and through modern IT developments.

The most important issue in this connections is legality and ethicality where ethics are based on a set of moral principles. Legality is based on accepted and rigid principles based on good and bad. Drugs give quick and serious effects to the body. Nowadays drugs is a necessity in life. drugs are being manufactured, adopting various complex mechanism using natural and un-natural ingredients.

The mechanism adopted for drug promotion all over the world is not necessarily ethical and legal. It is not only in Sri Lanka that these unacceptable practices are taking place.

As funds involved are so huge. It is difficult even for a State to resist unethical and illegal stream of under current.

It is very opportune that this topic is chosen for this year. We expect and hope that this world initiative will help us to relive our needy consumers who have become pawns of rich and powerful multi-national Companies to whom even powerful professionals and businessmen have become pawns.

The drugs are freely available in Sri Lanka. It is not standardised nor monitored. Even in the UK for a prescription of a very innocent antibiotic, the guidance of a doctor is necessary.

In Sri Lanka very powerful and dangerous drugs are freely available in pharmacies.

Drugs are being promoted through hospitals and doctors. There is no check and balances on the pharmacies on the incorrect drugs are given to the patients.

We refer to Section 30 of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003 which states as follows:

30. No trader shall, in the course of a trade or business, engage in any type of conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive the consumer or any other trader.

Section 31 of the Act deals with false representations which states as follows:

(31 A-G) 31. Any trader who, in the course of a trade or business. in connection with the supply or possible supply of goods or services or in connection with the promotion by any means of the supply or use of goods or services.

(a) Falsely represents that goods or services are of a particular standards, quality or grade, or that goods are of a particular style or model.

(b) Falsely represents that goods are new

(c) Represents that goods or services have sponsorship approval, performance, characteristics accessories, use or benefits they do not have.

(d) Represents that such trader has a sponsorship approval or affiliation he does not have.

(e) Makes false or misleading statements concerning the existence or amounts of price reduction or price increase.

(f) Makes false or misleading statements concerning the need for any goods, services, replacements or repairs or.

(g) makes false or misleading statements concerning the existence or effect of any warranty or guarantee.

It is time for us to implement these regulations, to the last word in the name of humanity for the sake of consumers. Unfortunately we are not strong enough for this. We are in the Authority with limited regulatory powers.

We need the help of the people, consumers, public, the government and the international brotherhood to act together and jointly in this endeavour, to win the war against the drug menace.

I think it is time for us to use all our strength and harness all efforts aiming at the World Consumer day on 15 March 2007 to air our voice loud and clear to the public and the world and it is the duty of the media to help us in this difficult exercise.

There are other government and Non Governmental Organisations to come forward in this task. There are the Ministry of Health, Drug Prevention Board, Environmental Authority and Food Advisory Committee etc.

We take this opportunity to invite all interested Organizations and Agencies to communicate with us in this needy and difficult endeavour to get redress to the Consumers, states Sarath Wijesinghe, Chairman, Consumer Affairs Authority in a press release.

How long can we remain passive consumers?

We all are concerned about our rights, talk about our rights, write books, lengthy articles etc. about our rights and preach about our rights.

There are numerous rights that we enjoy such as Human Rights, Child Rights, Women’s Rights, Workers’ rights, Consumer Rights etc. But do we for a moment think about our duties, responsibilities or obligations towards our families, towards our employers, towards our society?

There are Individuals, Government and Non Government Organisations who will assist us, support us, encourage us, speak on behalf of us if our rights are violated.

But it is heartening to note that we do not find any Organisation which will come forward when we do not discharge our duties, responsibilities, or obligations towards our family, towards our employer, towards our society and towards the country at large.

As consumers it is true that we should be concerned about our rights but also we should give the same level of consideration towards our responsibilities as both rights and responsibilities go hand in hand. Through serious consideration of the responsibilities only we should be able to safeguard our rights as consumers.

As consumers, you have to be more vigilant about the prevailing market situations, availability of goods and the quality and standards of goods.

We should also be aware about the family consumption patterns and should be able to adjust the consumption patterns according to the availability of goods and avoid buying them when the prices go up due to various reasons.

Eg. You can avoid purchasing upcountry crop during rainy seasons when the prices go up and instead purchase vegetables grown in the low country which will be available in abundance for a cheaper price.

During ancient times when technology has not developed as at today our housewives have always used various methods to preserve food items specially the items which you find in abundance during the particular seasons/harvesting times. Pickles, dried fish, chutneys etc. are some of the methods adopted by ancient people to preserve food in order to consume during non seasonal times.

When purchasing electrical or electronic appliances try to buy from reputed dealers and go for reputed brand names. Although they may cost you a little more, the extra rupee you pay goes a long way.

Always insist on the warranty and fill up all required forms accurately so that you are not only covered for manufacturer’s defects but you will become entitled for repairs during the period of warranty. If the seller fails or ignores to give any warranty, report it to the relevant authorities.

Be extra cautious about what is printed in small letters in a warranty card. This also applies to services specially when obtaining insurance policies.

When purchasing processed food items in packets, bottles, tins, cans, containers etc. always read the labels, specially the date of expiry/date of manufacture, Maximum Retail Price, name of the manufacturer etc. Do not buy items which do not have any label although it may be cheaper in price.

Consumers must be always assertive and be actively involved in order to ensure a fair deal as consumers would be exploited if they remain passive consumers.

Consumers should never be carried away by advertisements. The consumer should be able to look at a product analytically and think and act critically. In such a situation the trader will not be able to take him for a ride with advertising gimmicks.

It is not the average consumer that the traders target by their advertisements but most of them target children which has become really a tough job on the parents. It is our duty to teach our children on food habits, nutritional values etc. from a very young age in a way they could understand, specially in schools and at home.

Consumers should always be able to distinguish needs from wants specially when you posses “plastic money”. Make sure that you buy what you need because you tempt to spend more when you carry plastic money with you. If you analyze your needs and wants before you buy you will not regret later.

As far as possible avoid shopping during festive seasons and never be carried away by various special offers, sales, easy payment schemes etc. which are tricks played by traders in order to attract customers. Always be mindful about the prices prevailing just before any festive season and compare them with the special offers etc. and decide for yourself whether its worth buying it or not.

Also you have to be vigilant about the quality of the items offered during these seasons in various ways and methods.

We are all consumers and we have to be mindful that the ideal economy where the consumer is sovereign is something that is hard to achieve. Give some thought to what has been stated in this article and try to act with responsibility as a consumer. Then you can be happy about yourself that you have done your part as a consumer.

Deepthi Tissera,

Director-Legal, CAA

Dear consumer, do you get value for what you pay for food?

Food is an essential requirement for living. Life cannot be maintained without it. It is just important as oxygen or water. Hence, it is obvious without food we cannot survive. How many of us is aware of what we consume is safe food.

The customer/consumer and the public should know what they are buying. It is an offence to sell any food with a label or publishes an advertisement which falsely describes quality foodstuff or which is sometime misleading claims as to nutritional or dietary value of foods.

Food standards assure the customer the nature, substance and quality of food one buys with confidence. Correctly labelled foods offered for sale is assured by standards.

The label may be considered as a self advertiser for the manufacturer while for the consumer it assures quality or warns of potential hazards from preservatives, other additives, colouring matter, contaminants and age of the product.

“Label” includes any words, particulars, trade mark, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to the food and appearing on the packaging of the food or on any document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying the food.

When a name incorporates the name of a food it must be present in a significant quantity. For instance “milk food” should contain at least 70% dried milk. If the food includes the names of two or more ingredients, the ingredients present in the greatest quantity should be named first, e.g. “malt extract and cod liver oil” not “cod liver oil extract and malt extract.”

Pictorial designs should not be employed to suggest natural origins in food which contain only artificial products, e.g. lemons on the label of an artificially flavoured lemonade powder containing citric acid only. Another example is a picture of a bunch of grapes on a bottle containing imitation wine or imitation brandy.

Foreign words should not be used on labels to give false impression that the food originated from the country indicated by the language, e.g. “Chinese noodles” in Chinese or “Italian Spaghetti”, “Italian Macaroni” in Italian when these are made locally.

If a label has a nutritional claim, the substance on which the claim is made should be present in a nutritionally significant quantity.

Labelling and advertising has now become so complicated and scientific that they offer almost unlimited scope for misrepresentation to the consumer.

The general belief is standards promote trade, benefiting manufacturers, processors, consumers and elevates the standard of living and socio-economic position. In the absence of standards, countries are vulnerable to “dumping” of inferior unfit foods.

Cheaper and less nutritive food may be sold where proper standards are not enforced. Problems of fraud and adulteration are popular where food is scarce and demand for it is great.

Food standards require a full and accurate description of the food, the net weight or volume of the contents, the drained weight, the identity and list of ingredients in order of the weight or importance, permitted additives and limits for contaminants etc.

Sometimes standards also require specific processing requirements, precautions about the storage and details about the contents. Some standards prescribe minimum limits, others maximum limits.

The primary objective/purpose of the standards is to ensure the health and safety of the consumers. Food regulations stipulate standards for many foods.

The label should inform the consumer what the food is, what is in it and how long it will remain in good condition.

In general the label should include the name of the food, a list of ingredients, minimum durability, storage conditions if any and conditions of use, the name or business name and address of registered office of the manufacturer or packer or seller, the place of origin of the food, if failure to give this misleads this customer regarding the true origin of the food, and instructions for use if failure to give these may mislead the customer regarding appropriate use.

The particulars of marking or labelling shall appear on the packaging itself or on a label that is clearly visible through the packaging. Alternatively these particulars may appear on a label attached to the packaging.

The label shall be easy to understand, clearly legible and the particulars shall be in a conspicuous place, satisfactory size and easily visible. The particulars shall not be hidden, or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter.

The name of the food, weight and minium durability shall appear on the label in the same field of vision.

Offences:

It is an offence under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003,

(i) to have false, misleading claims/statements regarding nutritional uses and medical claims unless the food is capable of fulfilling the claims;

(ii) to remove, alters, obliterates, erases or defaces any label, description or price mark on any goods in respect of which a direction has been issued under Section 10 (1) or sells or offers for sale any such goods from or on which the label, description or price mark has been removed, altered, obliterated, erased or defaced. Also offences under respective regulations such as

(iii) to sell any food which is not labelled in accordance with the labelling regulations; and

(iv) to sell any food which violates the food standards or non-compliance with standards.

At present there are about 85 items that come under the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) mandatory import inspection scheme. Those who import these said items have to obtain a clearance certificate from the SLSI to sell their goods.

There is discussion within some sections of the health sector to introduce a labelling requirement for imports of Genetically Modified (GM) Food. A draft regulation has been prepared and discussed with key stakeholders.

The regulations under the Food Act No. 26 of 1980 came into effect on April 1, 2004 govern the information that should appear on a label of any pre-packed food product offered for sale, transported or advertised for sale in Sri Lanka.

This includes all imported food items as well. The directions issued under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003 include the new features such as maximum retial price, date of expiry and the batch number for 54 items and Standards for few items.

There should not be fundamental divergence of interest between the consumer and supplier. The best option is the dialogue between consumers, industry and regulators to protect the welfare of the consumers.

If consumers are not satisfied producers/traders cannot continue to be in business.

The purpose of this article is to make the consumers aware that the price and weight of measurement are not the only criteria for you to consider while purchasing. If you are to get value for your money spent then check on price, weight, standard (quality) and the labelling instructions on your purchases, whenever you do so.

Shanthini Neelakandan

Director, Competition Promotion, CAA