A group of legislators has demanded that TV commercials promoting products that "instantly lower blood alcohol levels" should be pulled from the airwaves because they are both misleading to the public and encourage drunk driving.
DPP legislators Yu Jan-daw (
The commercials, aired on cable TV, show two young men administering breath-alcohol tests to drinkers at a night market.
They are shown being tested before consuming the product, and then tested again afterwards -- the results of which show enormously reduced blood alcohol levels.
"These commercials look like they're objective and scientific. But we know from the city government's investigations that these products don't work at all," Wang said.
The Taipei City Government's Bureau of Health, in conjunction with city police, released the results of its investigations into 12 such products on Monday. They were found to contain vitamins, minerals and in some cases Chinese herbs -- but no elements which help the body break down alcohol faster.
"We want these companies to pull their ads. They are totally inappropriate," Yu said.
"With commercials for these products playing 24 hours a day, people are going to get the idea that it's OK to drink and drive," he said.
The legislators also complained that the product does not clearly state on its packaging whether it is a food or a medicine.
They called on the Department of Health, the Fair Trade Commission and the Government Information Office to enforce existing regulations against false advertising, clarify for the public what these products are and investigate their prices.
Prices for 50ml to 70ml bottles range from NT$200 to NT$300.
The director of the food sanitation bureau at the Department of Health, Chen Shu-kung (陳樹功), denounced the products yesterday, saying that they made "unrealistic claims" and misled the public as to their real effects.
Any decision about whether to restrict advertisements for the products should be made by the GIO, he said.
Pharmaceutical affairs officials at the department declined to answer any questions about the product yesterday, instead referring all inquiries to the food bureau.
Chang Chung-jen (
But the GIO's position on the commercials is quite clear, he said.
"If the Department of Health considers these products beverages and they are being advertised as having medicinal effects, then this is false advertising -- the commercials are violating the Fair Trade Law and are illegal," Chang said.
Representatives from Con Pack International, the makers of No More Booze, continued to deny yesterday that their product or its advertising made any false claims.
"There isn't a company on Earth that would suggest you drink and drive," said a customer service representative surnamed Lin, who refused to give her full name.
"Our product will lower your blood alcohol level, but our commercials don't suggest that it'll bring you below the legal limit [for driving]. Maybe people have misunderstood our ads," she said.
The product in question is a beverage, not a medicine, and as such does not require any approval from the Department of Health, she said.
When asked about the company's prices and what Con Pack planned to do if its ads were banned, the firm's customer service representative curtly referred further questions to the company's public relations department.
Con Pack's PR office did not respond to calls made by the Taipei Times yesterday.
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS