Standards bodies in the country, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and National Drug Authority (NDA), have issued a warning to local companies that manufacture soft drinks against misleading masses through claiming that their products contain nutritional and therapeutic value using adverts on television, radio and social media.
Patricia Bageine the deputy executive director of UNBS notes that some of these companies were certified to make drinks but they change the message and content of the products when they start advertising.
“You can not get certification from us because your product is safe and meets the standards, then you go out and say this product helps cure the liver, No!” she says.
Most media houses are run as businesses and as such advertisement is their main source of income and rarely do they dismiss adverts regardless of the message they transmit to the public. Therefore, there has been a growing number of concerns regarding the misleading message that soft drinks manufacturers are sharing with the public.
Bageine said many adverts exaggerate the therapeutic capability of the drinks being marketed. She expressed concern that such adverts not only mislead the public but also put lives at risk.
Some of them especially the visual content on TV and social media, portray inappropriate media.
“let us make money but while making sure that we are not putting anybody at risk. We have said the claims are allowed provided you have done the right thing. So media, we are asking you not to only look at the money first” she said.
I want you to put yourself in the position of somebody who is doing from cancer and they are hearing this from you. By the time they hear this from you, they think everybody has done their work,” she added.
To Dr Helen Ndagire Byomire, the director of product safety at the national drug authority, anyone who advertises or promotes a product with claims of a cure, treatment, prevention and/or modification of disease/body function is advertising a drug and must seek the approval of NDA.
Both UNBS and NDA have begun a crackdown on all manufacturers that have been publishing misleading information on the drinks they manufacture
