Vivimind Billboards

[pyat]

So, if you live in Canada, you're seeing billboards for Vivimind, an over-the-counter drug that allegedly protects "memory function."

Know, then, that the drug is being sold over-the-counter because it failed clinical trials. So, the company can only market it as a nutritional supplement.

Comments

If that doesn't work

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

There's always Penta Water (http://www.pentawater.com/_pw/pentafacts.php?sub=1&item=4). It's water that's been scientifically engineered to absorb into your body.

They used to claim that they'd engineered the water molecules to clump together into special aggregates, presumably of five molecules, and that those passed into your cells optimally.

[cargoweasel.livejournal.com]

I'll only buy the homeopathic version!

Re: If that doesn't work

[zenten.livejournal.com]

That sounds painful.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

The active ingredient is imagination!

[easyalchemy.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'd wondered about those, but was so irritated by how unclear the billboards were that I decided early on to never, ever look them up.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

And another nail is driven into the coffin of, "It's a nutritional supplement, so it must be better for you than a drug!"

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

I thought we hit that with energy drinks counting as supplements. Remember kids, US-style Mountain Dew counts as a nutritional supplement!

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

How many nails does a coffin need before it gets buried?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I've told you about Coke Plus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_Plus), right?

Hey, kids! Soda for breakfast!

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

That's why I eat small children!

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

I'm baffled that they can make these claims and not be shot down in the name of consumer protection.

http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=1647

Then again, on AM 900 I often hear ads that claim that you can lose significant weight and abdominal girth by regular use of one particular company's special 'colonic cleansing' treatment.

::B::

[neosis.livejournal.com]

I do wonder about that, where do we draw the line between "It's a health supplement" and "It's charlatans lying to you and cheating you out of money".

There's a lot of products out of there of dubious effectively, and also a lot that are actually 100% counter-productive towards their stated goals. Learned a little about this last weekend with "infant protection devices" that offer none and actually increase the SIDS rates of children they're used on.

Someone's going to be held criminally responsible sooner or later. I can only hope it's sooner.