‘Miracle’ and weight loss products: French Diabetes Federation denounces harmful influencer ads

Miracle foods against illness, medicines meant for diabetics are redirected… For the French Diabetes Federation (FFD), the excesses of influencers are numerous and must be resisted. In a press release that Le Parisien was able to read on Monday, the diabetics rights association calls for stronger sanctions and controls on the excesses of Internet stars, and this week in the Assembly.

The federation “supports this bill” and says it is “against the intemperance” of social media, but also calls for more detail in the text. In particular, he advocates clarifying the “regulatory framework” associated with the promotion of health products “by non-health professionals, in particular with regard to safety.”

First of all, the Federation “calls for an intensified fight” against misleading advertising related to health products by further engaging the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) and the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communications (ARCOM).

Ozempic and the stolen glucose sensors

To prevent abuse, the association is calling for the suspension of influencer accounts “promoting the use of label (hijacked, in French) medical procedures or devices, and in more serious cases, systematic prosecution for illegal medical or pharmaceutical practices.”

Dubious health promotions are rife on social media. In recent months, many accounts have popularized the use of the popular celebrity diabetic Ozempic as an appetite suppressant for quick and easy weight loss. Promotion creating “demand over supply and causing supply tensions for Ozempic,” comments FFD.

The association also denounces the use of “continuous glucose monitors” as “lifestyle” tools for daily monitoring of sugar levels and therefore weight control. The punchline that discredits “diabetic patients who are prescribed these medical devices as part of their treatment” is reminiscent of the FFD.

To “parallel medicine”?

The final trap: promoting miracle products, “alternative medicine” or even “sectarian therapeutic excesses” against diabetes, instilling fear in Internet users, or even “pretexting the futility of traditional treatments.” Several influencers have indeed been prosecuted for promoting ostensibly health products, such as “treating type 1 and type 2 diabetes.”

To better counter these abuses, the FFD is also asking for “civil and criminal liability cases for individuals using it to be included in the consumer code (section on misleading commercial practices),” and calls for improved accountability systems and increased awareness in school curricula. .

On Friday, the Ministry of Economy refined the outlines of the measures discussed with MPs Stephane Voyette and Arthur Delaporte, which are aimed, in particular, at determining the status of an influential person and regulating their commercial partnerships. In the area of ​​healthcare, Bercy has specifically advocated for the application of advertising rules (which govern advertising for tobacco, alcohol, or even health actions) in force for the media to social media influencers.

Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire also said he was in favor of an official ban on the promotion of cosmetic surgery on social media. On the other hand, he did not talk about the misuse of health products as weight loss products, of which there are also many.