Did you know there are pills out there that claim to make your breasts bigger, rid your thighs of cellulite, strip away body fat and give you rock-hard muscles without exercise? Of course you did. You may even have bought - or considered buying - some of these miracle medicines, and you wouldn't be alone. It seems that when it comes to improving our bodies, we are suckers for a quick fix, no matter how dubious the claim.
In a survey of direct marketing literature by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in 2001, the health sector was the worst offender when it came to violating the British Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion. Serious breaches were found in 43.8% of the material, most related to exaggerated claims for the products concerned.
What makes normally discerning consumers swallow these far-fetched claims? "Most people are largely ignorant about how the body works, which makes them vulnerable to the way these products are marketed, and unable to scrutinise the evidence before them," says Jeya Henry, a professor of nutrition at Oxford Brookes University.
The Food Commission, which lobbies for safer, healthier food in the UK, is constantly complaining about the way "miracle" health products such as slimming pills are marketed. "Typically," says policy officer Kath Dalmeny, "the mailings have a photograph of a 'scientist' in a white coat, wild claims of efficacy and no adverse side effects, and plenty of before and after photographs to play on people's desire for a better life. It is a highly automated and manipulative trade."
The Food Commission recently complained to the ASA about an advertisement for a herbal breast enlargement pill called Erdic. The ASA upheld the complaint, saying that Erdic UK had failed to prove that its product worked, and the company was ordered to withdraw the ads. Despite the media coverage of this, the pills - which cost £349 for three boxes (the amount purportedly needed to increase bust size by one cup) - still receive glowing testimonials in a number of women's magazines, according to the Erdic website.
"The trouble with herbal products and supplements is that they are covered by wishy-washy health food claims regulation, rather than robust medical products legislation," says Dalmeny. "There is little enforcement of labelling regulations when it comes to supplements and quack medicines - unsubstantiated claims proliferate." The issue isn't just whether or not a product is effective; it's also about possible side effects or health risks. "Manufacturers, for example, are not obliged to give medical warnings about any possible long-term effects," says Dalmeny.
While people can and do get taken in by all manner of spurious advertising and marketing material, it seems that we have a particular weakness when it comes to alternative health products. There is an increasing trend for favouring these over orthodox medicine and science, whether it be for combating depression, losing weight or improving virility. As Peter Marsh, co-director of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, puts it, "It's like a quasi-religious faith. People don't apply the same sense of judgment to such products as they would in other areas of their lives."
