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Crackdown on `anti-SARS' products

The Department of Health said yesterday it will step up the monitoring of products advertised as having properties that can prevent or cure SARS.

The department's Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs began to monitor advertisements promoting anti-SARS products in May. So far, it has collected dozens of questionable advertisements selling these products.

According to the bureau, the advertisements covered various products, including drugs, food, house-cleaning products, electronics and even magic stones.

Photocatalyst air conditioners and air sterilizers are among the best-selling products promoted during the epidemic, said Wang Hui-po (王惠珀), the bureau's director-general.

Wang said advertisements of these products did not claim SARS-healing or diagnostic properties.

"But most of them claimed the products could prevent, kill, contain and bar the SARS virus." These words might mislead the public to believe that certain brands were better than others because their products have an anti-SARS effect," Wang said.

The bureau said the public is concerned about whether photocatalyst products are effective in preventing SARS. But it has yet to decide whether these advanced products can really fight the disease.

Most companies failed to give concrete evidence of the anti-SARS effectiveness of their products, a bureau official said.

"So far the department has not approved any drugs to cure or diagnose SARS," the bureau said, adding the most effective way to prevent the disease is a healthy lifestyle and good hygiene habits.

The bureau said companies found to have exaggerated their advertisements promoting anti-SARS drugs or medical facilities face fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
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