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PHA 2nd Summit on Supplements "Heart Supplements: The Facts and Fallacies"
Bayview Hotel, Manila February 26, 2010 Andre S. Kahn VP for External Affairs, Philippine Heart Association Opening Introductions: The Honorable Esperanza I. Cabral, Secretary of Health Doctor Maria Teresa B. Abola, President, Phil Heart Association Doctor Nazarita Tacandong, Director Food and Drug Administration Our friends in the media, our guests from the Advertising Sector Fellow directors from the Phil Heart Association "Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have."Richard Salent, former president, CBS News Metro Manila like most major cities in the world has experienced in the last 50 years the media influence growing exponentially with the advance of technology since the start of the digital age. First there was the telegraph, then the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television and now the internet. Most of us, can still remember watching television in black and white, this year 3 D was introduced for home television. We live in a society that depends on information and communication that hopefully keeps us moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do. A common person in Manila usually wakes up checks the radio, tv news, newspaper and the internet, goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats with their family when possible and makes his decisions based on the information that he has either from their co workers, news, tv, friends, family, financial reports, even facebook, and other sites. What we need to be aware is that most of our decisions, beliefs and values are based on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our own experience. In our work we usually know what we have to do based on our experience and studies, however on our daily lives we rely on the media to get the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of. We have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it really works. Of all the media platforms, the most influential has been the television, however very quickly the internet is catching up. We are constantly exposed to thousands of images of violence, advertising, sex, celebrities and much more, in fact its known that a child is exposed to about 40,000 ads a year. In the Philippine media scenario, what entity safeguards the viewing public? A quick flash back, in the early eighties during the Martial Law era, the advertising community in order to hold at bay any attempt of government to regulate the industry, brought together all the sectors composing the advertising industry and established the Philippine Board of Advertising, eventually to become the Advertising Board of the Philippines. Its main objective then was the self policing of all advertising materials to be shown on television, radio, or published in print media and all out of home platforms. The committee was known as the ACRC, Advertising Content and Regulations Committee. Today the body is known as The Advertising Standards Council. A stand alone organization composed of the three major stockholders, and these are the Advertisers represented by the Phil. Association of National Advertisers, the Kapisanan Ng Mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas, representing the electronic media, and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies, representing the Advertising agency sector. To give you an idea of the scope of work the ASC fulfills, it would surprise most consumers to know, that over a twelve month period ending December 2009, the ASC reviewed an outstanding 20,554 pieces of advertising material. Think about it, over TWENTY THOUSAND advertising materials. Here is a quick snapshot of the 20,554 advetising materials.
And among the 20 thousand or so materials, you have the food supplement category. This category is growing by leaps and bounds. Yet we at the ASC are well aware of the implications of these commercials. We are indeed very grateful to the Philippine Heart Association for organizing this summit which I am sure is going to give us lay men and women an new perspective to the category. Let me go through very quickly the four provisions in our code of advertising standards that cover Vitamins, Food Supplements & Minerals. Section 4. VITAMIN, FOOD SUPPLEMENTS & MINERALS
One observation; I find in most categories that most cases/complaints revolved around one competitor filing a case against another and questions the substantiations of their claims. In the case of the food supplement category, no one has filed a case against another competitor. It makes you wonder why. So yes, all of us regardless of our calling in life, are consumers. And consumers have recourse if you feel a piece of advertising material is questionable in its claims, immoral, illegal or unethical. Write or call the Ad Standards Council. Thank you for your kind attention. | ||||||||||||||||||
