Parents and students are alerted to watch out for the misleading sales practices of some unscrupulous private tutorial centres.Looking for a gift for friends or family members this festive season? A health product can be the perfect answer but you'd got to be careful if you spot any of the following which Consumer Council has alerted the public in recent studies for their misleading claims and potential harm effects.
It is anticipated that these old products may be repackaged and marketed to the unaware public during the holiday shopping season.
Health Ornaments
Health ornaments in the form of bracelets, necklaces and pendants, are marketed as having special chemical elements or even "energy" that can improve sleep quality, reduce fatigue or improve health.
Some pendant products even claim to make the wearer "feel" a boost of energy or "sense" an improvement in physical health and tenacity.
Experts have cast doubts over the effectiveness of these tiny ornaments in making an impact on physical health as claimed, and the claimed therapeutic effects are difficult, if not at all possible to be assessed or scientifically proven, since the wordings of claims like "feel" or "sense" can be embedded with subjective experiences.
Health ornaments had become a target of public warning in recent years. The Customs and Excise Department urged the public not to wear a pendant with enhanced radioactivity in 2009. And the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had alerted the public about the misleading claims of a bangle for wrists and ankles in 2010, as the supplier could not provide sufficient scientific evidence to prove that the product could improve the balancing capacity, strength and tenacity of the body.
Electro-therapeutic devices
Consumers are advised not to buy and operate electro-therapeutic devices on their own as their advertised therapeutic effects like enhancement of blood circulation and muscle relaxation could only be achieved with proper voltage, frequency, wave oscillation, duration and electric current prescribed by the physiotherapists.
Some "high-voltage devices" sold in the market carry the claims of delivering electrical potentials of up to 7,000 to 9,000 Watts, and it may cause seriously burns to the skin or even tissues underneath unless the current used is very weak.
People with arrhythmia and pacemaker should avoid these devices altogether.
Nano Cups
Nano cups are promoted as embedded with nanomaterial that can break clusters of molecules in water poured into it. The water will be more "active", and easily absorbed by the body resulting in "biological effects" of benefit to health.
But in the view of experts, all pure water produces "biological effects", and the molecule structure of water will never change once it goes inside the body.
Consumers are advised not to be misled if they are told that water can contain "super energy".
The public are urged not to buy or use health products or devices purely on the product claims, as a lot of promotional information related to these products is found to be lack of sufficient scientific evidence. They should seek proper diagnosis and treatment from healthcare professionals when feeling unwell.
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