Behind the crazy growth of health care products market： brainwashing the elderly by marketing pyramid schemes on their knees
BEIJING, Beijing, June 22 (Qiu Yu) In the rapidly developing health care industry, the elderly have become the main force of consumption. According to the data of china health care association, the annual sales of health care products in China is about 200 billion yuan, of which the consumption of the elderly accounts for more than 50%.
According to the report released by China Consumers Association, about 70% of consumers are not satisfied with the domestic health food market. According to a survey conducted by a reporter from Zhongxin. com (WeChat WeChat official account: cns2012), many health care products companies play the family card and use false and exaggerated marketing methods to fool the elderly into buying products. When the elderly find problems, they fall into the dilemma of safeguarding their rights.
[event]
University retired teachers and couples spend 500,000 yuan on health care products.
Ms. Liu’s mother is 78 years old. She and her wife are both retired university teachers. They receive a total pension of 15,000 yuan per month, but they have bought all their savings for health care products. "In eight years, the two old people spent at least 500,000 yuan on health care products, and even secretly borrowed money from old colleagues to buy them."
"Parents buy health care products to save money, and they only eat one meal when eating out. But now you must drink 100 ml of oral liquid after meals, just like soup, "Ms. Liu said." However, my father is getting thinner and thinner, and the doctor has repeatedly mentioned that he is malnourished. "
"Mother’s leg joint is not good, and she insists on not going to the hospital. However, she spent at least 100,000 yuan in a health care product company, saying that she could support the elderly and eat health care products for free. "She questioned that the health care product company did not even issue a contract, let alone mention how to provide for the elderly. Ms. Liu is somewhat helpless about this.
As for the reason why her mother is addicted to buying health care products, Ms. Liu said that the health care product salesman went door-to-door every day and "washed her brain".
[Secret]
Salesmen play the "family card" and kneel down to market.
Why are the elderly easily fooled by health care product salesmen? Wang Dahong, secretary-general of china health care association Health Products Market Working Committee, told reporters that the elderly are eager to be cared for and afraid of loneliness, but many elderly people’s children are not around and don’t have enough time to take care of them. Some illegal marketers take advantage of the psychological vacancy of the elderly and induce them to buy products through spiritual comfort and other means.
According to recent media reports, an old man in Guangdong spent 200,000 yuan on health care products in four years, saying that "because of loneliness and money, I hope someone will spend more time with me".
A health care product salesman revealed that core information can be obtained from the elderly through home visits, including their economic conditions, physical condition and who is in charge at home.
Ms. Liu said that the old couple is usually the mother. More than a dozen salesmen from different health care products marketing companies frequently visit their homes and sometimes send some cheap flour and fruit. Mother’s knees were not good, and a female salesman even knelt on the ground to apply essential oil and massage to the elderly, which made her very moved.
The reporter learned that "family offensive" is a common means for some health care product salesmen. Many salesmen even call "mom and dad, grandparents" as soon as they come to the door, and also help the elderly to do housework and chat.
Brainwash the elderly by organizing meetings and traveling.
After playing the "family card", health care products companies will further brainwash the elderly by sending product benefits, organizing meetings, and free medical treatment.
The reporter found that some health care products companies sent a variety of "benefits", including "old cadres’ special medicine and food homologous products ‘ Fengling Capsule ’ " "Life Soft Rubber Magnetic Energy Watch" and "Human Meridian Acupoint Physical Therapy Pen".
Ms. Liu’s mother has a special health notebook with the time and place of various health care products marketing activities written on it, as well as celebrity lectures with titles such as "academician, tutor, professor and doctor". Ms. Liu said that in an activity, a famous doctor who claimed to have seen the doctor for the leader knelt on the stage and kowtowed to the old people and shouted "Mom and Dad". As a result, her mother spent 10,000 yuan to buy "egg albumin that can save lives".
The reporter contacted a health care product salesman. From the video sent by his WeChat circle of friends, a middle-aged man introduced the product impassioned on the stage, and dozens of old people raised their hands enthusiastically.
However, many health care products marketing places prohibit young people from entering, on the grounds that "services are only provided to the elderly". The reporter tried to contact several salesmen in the name of buying products, but they were very vigilant and asked for the name of the "introducer" and refused to disclose the venue of the event.
[investigation]
Some health foods purchased by the elderly are fakes.
The photos provided by Ms. Liu show that all kinds of health care products are piled up on the floor of her parents’ home, including 50,000 yuan magnetic therapy mattress and bedspread, 8,000 yuan box of ant Polygonatum, thousands of yuan of sea bird’s nest, formula goat milk powder and anti-radiation oral liquid, bone collagen capsules, etc.
The reporter found that some of the "health food" purchased by the elderly did not have the "blue hat sign" approved by china food and drug administration. For example, a salesman’s so-called "blood bird’s nest" bought by the elderly costs 5,000 yuan for two boxes, which not only lacks the logo, but is actually a bird’s nest under the sea, that is, coral grass, which is not a bird’s nest at all.
The old man also bought a 15,000 yuan "optical quantum chip" underwear. According to the specification, this chip is made according to Einstein’s quantum physics and imported from Japan. Previously, the media had exposed the so-called "optical quantum chip" scam, saying that it was impossible to find the medical device registration number marked in the manual in china food and drug administration.
"Anti-tumor, Longevity" Some advertisements for health products exaggerate their efficacy.
China food and drug administration issued circulars in November last year and April this year, saying that several health food advertisements were monitored and all contained unscientific efficacy assertions. And using the patient’s name or image to prove the efficacy, which deceives and misleads consumers and seriously endangers the public’s food and drug safety.
The reporter found that some health care products companies printed words such as "anti-tumor", "longevity" and "energy" on their leaflets. However, regarding the "healing" effect of health food, the Food Safety Law clearly stipulates that "the labels and instructions of health food shall not involve the functions of disease prevention and treatment."
The China Consumers Association recently released a report saying that for the elderly and patients, the role of false propaganda and health care treatment is exaggerated by conference marketing, and many of them are not health foods, such as edible fungi products promoting tumor suppression and endocrine regulation, and "clearing food" fruit and vegetable juice claiming detoxification, beauty care and weight loss.
[Expert statement]
Which health care products marketing methods are suspected of being illegal?
Is it legal to conduct marketing in the form of lectures and conferences? Yan Bing, a lawyer of Beijing Times Jiuhe Law Firm, pointed out in an interview that this marketing method itself is not illegal, but it does have the phenomenon of "using legal forms to cover up illegal purposes", such as giving lectures by people without medical qualifications, fabricating or exaggerating the diseases of the elderly during free clinics, and publicizing the curative effect of health care products. These are all illegal acts, and even criminal offences in serious cases.
According to "Regulations on the Implementation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Food Safety Law (Revised Draft for Comment)", those who make false, exaggerated or deceptive propaganda and sales of health foods, formula foods for special medical purposes and other foods and food additives by telephone, lectures, meetings, organizing tours, etc., shall be confiscated by the food and drug supervision and administration department of the people’s government at or above the county level, and the organizer shall be fined between 50,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Wang Dahong also told reporters that the essence of marketing such as lectures and conferences is a business model, and this model itself is not right or wrong. He emphasized that "lectures, conferences and other marketing are like a kitchen knife. If it is used to cut vegetables, it is a good deed; If it is used to kill people, it is evil. "
Consumer rights protection faces difficulties in obtaining evidence.
The Law on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests stipulates that consumers may demand compensation from operators if their legitimate rights and interests are damaged because they use false advertisements or other false propaganda methods to provide goods or services. But in reality, consumers are facing difficulties in defending their rights, and the difficulty in obtaining evidence is one of the problems.
Regarding the damage to consumers’ rights and interests caused by false propaganda, the reporter called the "12315" consumer complaint reporting hotline set up by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for consultation. The staff said that if only the salesman verbally exaggerated the efficacy of health care products, and there was no problem with the product manual, it would not be accepted. She said that even if consumers have recorded evidence, it will not work, because the industrial and commercial departments "only look at written documents."
The reporter then called the "12331" food and drug complaint hotline. The staff said that if there is a complaint, the specific location and name of the merchant should be provided, otherwise it will not be accepted. She suggested that consumers go to regular pharmacies to buy health care products, because many salesmen have no fixed places.
Yan Bing said that if the health care products themselves have no quality problems and consumers have no written evidence, there is indeed a problem of safeguarding rights. If consumers think that they have bought health care products with "inflated prices", although legally speaking, they can terminate the contract with the seller, but the seller has the right to set prices independently, so it is difficult to defend their rights in reality. If you bring a lawsuit to the court, you have to bear higher costs.
According to the report released by China Consumers Association, as many as 76.03% of consumers are most looking forward to "strengthening government supervision and law enforcement and cracking down on false propaganda". At the same time, they hope that the competent authorities will improve laws and regulations and increase scientific consumption propaganda, and actively respond to the doubts and concerns of consumers. (End)