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PHA 2ND SUMMIT ON 'HEART SUPPLEMENTS: THE FACTS AND FALLACIES'
For many people today, taking nutritional and dietary supplements has become part of the drive toward ensuring good health. More and more consumers are viewing these so-called health supplements as additions to or even outright replacements for proper medications, as they tend to be unaware of the possible consequences of taking the supplements. These additives have increasingly become popular in spite of the disclaimer "No Approved Therapeutic Claims" The Philippine Heart Association (PHA) recently presented the current trends and certain facts and fallacies on health supplements-in particular those supplements that claim to be beneficial to the heart. Medical experts, led by Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral; Dr. Nazarita Tacondong, Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and leading officers of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) talked about the current issues in heart health supplements and medications at the PHA Second Summit on Supplements-Heart Supplements: The Facts and Fallacies, held on February 26, 2010 at the Bayview Hotel, Manila. The summit shed light on the roles of the DOH and the FDA in the regulation of food supplements and heart health supplements, as well as on the role of the media in raising public awareness of these products. Cabral and Tacondong talked about the respective roles of their government agencies in the regulation of food supplements. Cabral announced that DOH will enforce more rigid regulation on Food Supplements and will be implementing a new label warning in Filipino language: Mahalagang Paalala: Ang (name of product) ay hindi gamot at hindi dapat gamiting panggamot sa anumang uri ng sakit. Wastong nutrisyon at regular na ehersisyo ang pinakamainam na pagpapanatili ng kalusugan. The current caption "No Approved Therapeutic Claim", which has created a lot of confusion among the health conscious consumers, will no longer be allowed in any advertisement, promotion and/or sponsorship activities or materials. Tacondong added that the FDA will increase the penalty fees for food supplement manufacturers who violate the laws and promote false claims on their products. The minimum penalty fee will be raised from P1,000 to P50,000; while the maximum penalty fee will be raised from P5,000 to P5M. They will also tighten their policies on confiscating illegal and harmful food supplements. Meanwhile, PHA Vice President for External Affairs Andre Kahn spoke on The Role of Media in the Promotion and Propagation of Food Supplements; PHA Director Dr. Eugene Reyes on Food Supplements for the Heart: Are they Effective?; PHA Treasurer Dr. Saturnino Javier on Synopsis of the 1st Summit on Supplement held in May 2009; and PHA Director and Advocacy Committee chair Dr. Maria Adelaida Iboleon-Dy on the Beginnings of the Summit as an Advocacy Undertaking of the PHA. The speakers discussed the effects of various health supplements, and especially dealt with whether these products can indeed be safely taken, have health benefits or should be phased out. In conclusion, the PHA recommended the following: The FDA should work hand-in-hand with the DOH and require experts on various specialties (cardiovascular supplements to cardiologists, liver supplements to hepatologists, kidney supplements to nephrologists, etc.) to review the data on these supplements even before they are marketed. The FDA should require pre- and post-market safety testing of all herbal supplements and require manufacturers to report all adverse side effects experienced by consumers to the FDA. The DOH, FDA and the medical societies should educate both the physicians and the public about the health risks of certain herbal supplements. The Advertiser's Screening Committee must work hand-in-hand too with the above agencies and sectors to ensure no misleading data regarding these supplements are published, promoted and propagated. Until appropriate studies are available, the PHA recommends that a boxed warning label be affixed on herbal supplements sold in the Philippines indicate not only the warning NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIM in English, but include the statements in Filipino. After the speakers' presentations, an open forum exhorted the summit-goers to be more cautious and critical with the medications and supplements available in the market and discussed in the media. Public consumers are encouraged to report or complain any health supplement product that violates the laws through the FDA hotline numbers 807-0751 and 807-8275. |
