Some TV Stations Still Airing Slimming Commercials Without Approval

MUAR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Some television stations are still airing slimming commercials without getting approval from the Health Ministry.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that this was happening because of a lack of coordination between the unit in the ministry in charge of them and the stations concerned.
Health Ministry regulations governing commercials on pharmaceutical products including slimming pills applied to both the print and electronic media, he said.
"Ironically, some of them (television stations) failed to abide by the requirements," he told reporters after attending a dinner hosted by the MCA Ledang Division here last night.
He was commenting on a report about women suffering from kidney ailments after taking slimming pills.
Dr Chua said that there was no easy way out to lose weight other than watching one's diet and doing regular exercise.
"We advise those who want to pop slimming pills to seek medical advice first and ensure that they are approved by the Health Ministry.
"If the pills really work wonders, they (the distributors) do not need the services of sales staff as women who want to lose weight would be making a beeline for the products," he said.
To a question, he said that slimming pills consumption was one of the contributing factors to new cases of kidney ailments, which had reached 2,500 cases a year.
However, he added that diabetic patients accounted for the majority of the cases.