The phenomenon of “alarming and uncontrolled” growth of misleading and false advertising of nutritional supplements is a serious insult to consumers, their health and responsible companies working in this field, warns the Patronatul Producătorilor Industriali de Medicamenti din România (PRIMER). Drugmakers are calling on authorities to intervene urgently to regulate this type of advertising, particularly online and on social media platforms, where it has reached “alarming proportions”.

“In the context of this escalation of dangerous advertising practices, PRIMER requests the authorities to urgently intervene to regulate this type of advertising, especially in the online and social media environment,” reads a press release from the Patronage of Industrial Manufacturers in Lika, Romania

The Patronatul Producătorilor Industriali de Medicamenti in Romania, which provides more than 50% of the products in this category, as well as in other segments dedicated to the daily health care of Romanians, underlines the fact that this escalation of misleading advertising practices affects all companies -members who strictly comply with legislation and, in particular, regulations regarding the advertising of products in the category of dietary supplements.

Although there is relatively recent legislation on food additives – Law no. 56/2021, published on April 1, 2021, which clarifies the institutions involved in the notification of food additives, the main problem is the lack of rules of use, say drug manufacturers. Even though the law stipulates that these regulations should be issued within 90 days of publication, they still do not exist, more than 2 years later.

This lack of enforcement “leaves a dangerous legal vacuum, the consequences of which are felt in misleading and false advertising that reaches a scale contrary to health safety and good consumer taste, and violates all applicable advertising codes for this type of product, also representing a direct a threat to the integrity and credibility of the entire food additive industry in Romania.”

PRIMER therefore urges the competent authorities to “immediately intervene to regulate this situation, which is becoming increasingly difficult to control, by implementing a set of measures to combat the dangerous advertising of food additives, in the rules of application of Law 56/2021”.

At the same time, PRIMER calls for the creation of an agency that will specialize in the approval of advertising content and impose sanctions on manufacturers, media investors or advertising agencies that do not comply with severe fines.

In addition, PRIMER calls for stricter and stricter enforcement of existing advertising laws and regulations, especially those enacted by the National Broadcasting Council (CNA), which are adequate in their current form.

PRIMER believes that all these measures are absolutely necessary to protect the interests of consumers and restore the image of the dietary supplement industry.

In this context, “it is important that the authorities act quickly to effectively regulate the advertising of products in the category of dietary supplements, in order to guarantee, in this way, the health and safety of consumers and to stop this escalation of incorrect and dangerous advertising practices”.

PRIMER includes 18 of the most important factories in the country: Ac Helcor, B.Braun, Bio-Eel srl, Biofarm, Fiterman Farma, Gedeon-Richter, Infomed Fluids, Labormed-Alvogen, Laropharm, Magistra cc, Polisano Pharmaceuticals, Ropharma, Santa SA, Slavia Pharm, Zentiva, Terapia Cluj, TIS Pharmaceutical, Vim Spectrum, Zentiva.