Can drinking alkaline water cure diseases? Is “acidic constitution” the source of all diseases? Alkaline water can adjust the acidity and alkalinity of the human body? These “scientific rumors” that were popular in the early years have been exposed by authoritative organizations as deliberately created “health hoaxes”. According to experts, the concept of “alkaline water” itself is just a gimmick promoted by businesses. Even if the product is really high-alkaline water, it may not be as helpful to the human body as plain water.
Although the “alkaline water myth” was falsified in previous years, it has seen a “recovery” in some marketing campaigns in recent years. According to relevant media reports, there are still many middle-aged and elderly people who believe that drinking alkaline water for a long time is good for health, and many companies also use the concept of alkaline water to promote products. According to surging news reports, the sales platform, advertising slogan, product packaging, and hotline customer service of a water company in Yunnan intentionally or unintentionally guide consumers, implying that alkaline water can “treat” various diseases such as tumors, gout, and osteoporosis. effect.
After the report was released, the relevant person in charge of the Kunming Market Supervision and Administration Bureau responded that the bureau had arranged for food production, anti-unfair competition and other departments to jointly investigate the water companies involved. Some industry analysts said that if a water company produces natural mineral water without a mining license, it is illegal mining. At present, there is a possibility that the mining license of the company could not be renewed.
The routine for businesses to create “health care scams” is often to first spread “scientific rumors” to create momentum for products, and then accurately sell products for the common “health anxiety” of modern people, and finally stimulate potential consumers to buy. Now, this type of marketing promotion will not bluntly say that products “cure diseases”, but will use the name of “health science” to play “edge balls”, linking products with the concept of health, as if buying products can gain health. In today’s “health care team”, there are many young people born in the 90s and 00s. Among them, emerging scientific rumors such as “defecation” and “enzyme weight loss” are more popular, which are essentially similar to the “alkaline water myth”. .
To resist the endless scientific rumors from businesses, the public must not only identify the “commonality” of marketing routines, but also realize that improving scientific literacy is still an effective means of identifying routines. For all kinds of “pseudo-science” information fabricated by merchants or borrowed from other places, if consumers can make rational judgments based on scientific logic and common sense of life, instead of listening to “one family’s words”, it is not difficult to identify “pseudo-health” “The Marketing Trap. With the continuous upgrading of “scientific rumors”, popular science work still needs to be done for a long time, so that consumers can be more determined and discerning when facing “pseudo-scientific marketing”.
Once scientific rumors spread, even if they are falsified later, they will leave traces of spread on the Internet and deepen the public’s impression. In response to the phenomenon of “truth chasing rumors”, authoritative institutions may wish to try to build a “scientific rumor search platform” based on the “scientific rumor list”. On the one hand, it can help institutions to take the initiative to fight back scientific rumors. On the other hand, when people are faced with “health science” that is both true and false, they can also immediately search for authoritative answers on the platform. “Before, the majority of knowledge seekers could improve their scientific literacy through this channel.
At present, there are still regulatory gaps and “legal blind spots” for pseudoscientific marketing. my country’s Advertising Law clarifies that health food advertisements shall not contain “assertions or guarantees expressing efficacy and safety” and “involving disease prevention and treatment functions”. However, “alkaline water” is not a medicine or health food, but can put on a “scientific coat” and publicly promote various effects. In order to strictly restrict the marketing and promotion of merchants, the relevant departments need to pay special attention to “pseudo-scientific marketing” and actively introduce more targeted rectification measures.
At present, “scientific rumors” and “pseudo-scientific marketing” often go hand in hand, spread rapidly, and are difficult to wipe out. From a personal point of view, consumers who mistakenly fall into the “health care scam” will hurt their money at light, and may even hurt their health in severe cases; from a social perspective, whether it is to debunk the scam, control rumors, or follow-up supervision of corporate marketing behavior by all parties, Beware of scientific rumors that “makeovers” will bring a series of high social costs. Only by actively improving the public’s scientific literacy and making laws and policies more targeted can we better promote the eradication of falsehoods and preserve the true from the source, and avoid the breeding and spread of “healthcare scams” from the source.
Chen Zhiqi Source: China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily