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本帖最后由 awake 于 2009-7-8 21:27 编辑 7 q# R U. s0 \
: o* U0 p+ b- r! y, a0 T" Ahttp://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1771176
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! N1 l' {1 g$ zHealth authorities in Canada and the United States are on high alert for Internet scams related to swine flu and are cracking down on websites that are selling unauthorized products and making illegal claims about how to prevent and treat the illness.
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) R* f( W: d5 m$ ~! S2 B- v' JHealth Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are tracking the websites and have issued dozens of warning letters to force the removal of offensive claims.1 c3 z9 K% G1 l% {, O0 f
- \& M% O$ k8 ^: N$ f" j' KAmong the products that have popped up online are: a pill that is purported to cure a swine-flu infection within hours; a spray that claimed to leave a layer of ionic silver on the skin that would kill the virus; fake test kits; a shampoo; nasal sprays; wall-mounted ultraviolet light machines that allegedly prevent the spread and destroy the virus; and an electronic instrument that declared its "photobionic energy" and "deeply penetrating mega-frequency life-force energy waves"would strengthen the immune system and prevent infection. The machine costs thousands of dollars.3 D: O2 I/ c0 B- ]) U+ U0 c% I
& Y. u- h: K9 Y4 }2 TAttaching a claim to an unapproved product is illegal and authorities are not taking it lightly.
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"We consider the marketing of unproven products to treat a serious contagious disease like swine flu to be a very serious threat to the public's health," said Gary Coody, the FDA's health fraud co-ordinator. "It not only offers people a false sense of protection, but it may prevent people from immediately seeking a proven treatment."
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9 v7 p/ ]4 A8 o+ l! \The swine flu virus, also known as H1N1, has infected more than 94,000 people worldwide - more than 8,800 in Canada - and while there is still much that is unknown about the virus, two antiviral drugs called Tamiflu and Relenza have so far proven effective in treating it in many cases.0 g* @* w, T" }# m6 D
4 _# D$ R& m9 p1 c2 _Ionic silver sprays, however, and approximately 100 other products that have been found by the FDA, have not been approved as effective remedies or prevention methods." A1 i% I4 X1 D% j
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The flood of products being sold in response to the swine flu outbreak was no surprise. Scams have emerged in the wake of other public health concerns such as SARS and health authorities were poised to take action when the swine flu websites started appearing.
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"We knew they were going to come," Coody said. "The idea was to get the word out not only as a deterrent, but to help consumers know that they better have serious doubts about these kinds of products promoted on the Internet."
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' x" g3 p3 b U: f2 pHe said there is no way to know how many consumers have fallen for scams or how much money has been made on them.
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Coody said the FDA is taking an aggressive approach and has so far issued 57 warning letters that asked for a response within 48 hours.5 z9 w7 H" Z a* d; b
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On its own website, the agencyis identifying every company on a list of fraudulent swine flu products and posting the warnings. The company names remain there even after an offensive claim is removed or corrected.% F7 j! [7 T u1 ~7 J
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Three warning letters issued by the FDA were sent to Canadian companies that were selling masks, air purifiers and supplements and all three heeded the warnings, Coody said.
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More than 70 per cent of the companies the FDAhas been in contact with have closed down the website or made changes to it.9 o, I8 G! t! y: w/ N2 w
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Health Canada has contacted a total of 26 websites and 18 have removed unacceptable claims. Unlike the FDA, however, Health Canada will not disclose the offending websites.
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( C5 d4 A3 q# s8 P" \+ _! \0 R"It is not our standard practice to offer this type of information,"spokeswoman Christelle Legault said in an e-mail.. W2 ~! C) T5 N& g0 g
* `6 c3 T" X; R7 D7 D: yHealth Canada and the FDA both say they will consider criminal prosecution against websites that refuse to comply with their warnings. |
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