CONSUMER HEALTH

DECISIONS DECISIONS!
DECISIONS DECISIONS!
DECISIONS DECISIONS
DECISIONS DECISIONS
LEGIT!?!?
WHAT IS A CONSUMER?

Consumer-Anyone
who uses a service
or a product.
WHAT IS CONSUMER HEALTH?

Consumer Health - A science

concerned with helping you
select health products and
services wisely
BENEFITS OF BEING A WISE HEALTH CONSUMER

1. Saves you money, time, and

increases your satisfaction
Ex. Do you buy Orange Juice
by the gallon, or do you buy
individual boxes.
BENEFITS OF BEING A WISE HEALTH CONSUMER

2. Protects your health!

Wise consumers avoid buying
faulty products, or products that
could be harmful to their health.
YOU HAVE 4 BASIC RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER

 1. The right to safety. Consumers are

protected from dangerous products.
 2. The right to be informed. Consumers are
protected from misleading advertising.
 3. The right to choose. Consumers have the
right to make their own choices.
 4. The right to be heard. Consumers can
speak out when they are not satisfied.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 1. Price
 Which costs more?
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 2. Convenience
 We pay more for convenience
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 Convenience (Continued)

Healthy Lean Ground Beef

McDonalds Value Meal: $6.29 Cheeseburger: $3.02
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 2a. Convenience
 If
you were buying a 2 liter of soda. At which store
would it cost more?
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 2a. Convenience
 If you were buying a box of Frosted Flakes
cereal. At which store would it cost more?

Cost $3.79

Cost: $5.69
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 3. Family and Friends

 These people influence the decisions you make
about products.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

What are some decisions you have

made as a consumer that may
have been influenced by a friend
or family member?
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

 4. Quality
 Obviously,you want to have the best quality
 Better quality may be more expensive

 Ipod car adapter example

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASES!

5. Advertising
The way in which manufacturers
gain your attention can
persuade you to buy a product
BE CAREFUL!!!
CAN YOU NAME THESE COMPANIES?

 Life's Good
 Snap, Crackle, Pop

 Nothing Runs Like A Deere

 The ultimate driving machine

 I'm loving it!

CAN YOU NAME THE SLOGAN?
CAN YOU NAME THE SLOGAN?
CAN YOU NAME THE SLOGAN?
CAN YOU NAME THE SLOGAN?
CAN YOU NAME THE SLOGAN?
QUESTIONS??

 How can advertising affect a consumer’s

decision to purchase a product?
 What types of advertisements are out
there?
 Are there any products you have
purchased mainly because of the way it
has been advertised?
 Consumer Education

Unit price: The "Unit Price" (or "unit cost") tells you the cost per liter, per
kilogram, per pound, etc, of what you want to buy

If something is sold in number of items (for example "10 pencils") then the
same method can be used:

Example: What is best

•10 pencils for $4.00, or

•6 pencils for $2.70 ?
Here is the Unit Cost:

•$4.00 / 10 = $0.40 per pencil

•$2.70 / 6 = $0.45 per pencil
So the lowest Unit Price (and the best bargain) is 10 pencils for $4.00
 Consumer Education

Product labels: gives important information about what a

product contains

Comparison shopping: judging the benefits of different

products by comparing several factors (ex. Quality, features,
cost)

Cost & Quality: generic Vs. brand name products.

Features: What features are important to you?

 Consumer Education

Warranty: A written agreement to repair/replace a product or

refund your money if the product doesn’t function properly.

Safety: Underwriters laboratories (electrical appliances)

ANSI (helmets and protective gear)

Recommendations: Take advice from those who you trust.

Consumer reports….?
 Consumer Education

Consumer advocates: people or groups whose sole purpose is

to take on consumer issues,

Better Business Bureau: Provides general information on

products and services. Reliability reports, background
information, complaints against…etc. They will also attempt
to settle consumer complaints against local business firms
 Consumer Education

Government agencies:

Food and Drug Administration: Ensures all

food & food additives are safe (other than
meat & poultry)
Ensures cosmetics are safe
Ensures medicines are safe and properly
labeled
Regulates advertising of prescription
medicines.
 Government agencies:

Federal Trade Commission: Prevents unfair, false, or

deceptive advertising of products and services. Regulates
advertising of OTC medicines.

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Protects consumers

against the manufacture and sale of hazardous products
and also to order a recall if necessary.
Requires child-resistant containers for oral prescription
medicines and aspirin like products.
 Government agencies:

. The National Health Information Center (NHIC) is a health

information referral service. NHIC puts health professionals
and consumers who have health questions in touch with
those organizations that are best able to provide answers.
NHIC was established in 1979

The United States Department of Agriculture : responsible for

developing and executing policy on farming, agriculture, and
food. Works to assure food safety, and protect natural
resources
 Government agencies:

 The National Council Against Health Fraud is a

nonprofit, tax-exempt voluntary health agency
focused upon health fraud, misinformation, and
quackery as public health problems. This site,
archives many NCAHF documents that can help
people evaluate health claims.

http://www.ncahf.org/about/mission.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH7_VAMMuog

QUACKERY/FRAUD
 Fraud/Quackery

 The FDA defines health fraud as "the

promotion, for profit, of a medical remedy
known to be false or unproven."

 Quackery: Deliberate misrepresentation of

the ability of a substance or device for the
prevention or treatment of disease
 Why Quacks are successful

 Desperation/Hope
Many people faced with a serious health problem that doctors cannot
solve become desperate enough to try almost anything that arouses
hope. Many victims of cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS are
vulnerable in this way. Some squander their life's savings searching for
a "cure.“
 Belief in magic
Some people are easily taken in by the promise of an easy solution to
their problem. Those who buy one fad diet book after another fall into
this category.
 Lack of suspicion
Many people believe that if something is printed or broadcast, it must
be true or somehow its publication would not be allowed
 Distrust of the medical profession
 Fear
  Ways to Spot
Quacks

 They Claim That Most Americans Are Poorly Nourished

 They Say That Most Diseases Are Due to Faulty Diet

and Can Be Treated with "Nutritional" Methods.

 They Recommend "Supplements" and "Health Foods" for Everyone.

 They Say It Is Easy to Lose Weight.

 They Promise Quick, Dramatic, Miraculous Results.

 They Use Anecdotes and Testimonials to Support Their Claims.

 They Claim They Are Being Persecuted by Orthodox Medicine

and That Their Work Is Being Suppressed Because It's Controversial.

 It supposedly can cure just about anything. “Panacea”

HOW TO UNCOVER HEALTH FRAUD
 Is there a promise of a cure for a condition,
which currently has no cure
 Quick/Painless Results
 Does it claim to work by some secret formula
 Sold by telephone, door to door, mail order
 Promoted by little-known person or group
 Serviced through infomercials
 TESTIMONIALS
POPULAR TYPES OF FRAUD PRODUCTS

 Beauty Aids
 Playon peoples fear of getting old, fat, and promise
youth, beauty and sex appeal forever
 Wrinkles, Baldness, Weight Loss
DIET AIDS

 Appeals to our need to feel trim and energetic

FOOD

 Represents the most lucrative areas of

quackery. Waste of money and unhealthy
FRAUDULENT DEVICES

 Devices that are promoted to cure ailments

 Ways to Spot an Internet Bandit

Hidden name or address. Don't conduct business with users

unless they reveal their name, address, and phone number

Un-checkable references. "The subject of hundreds of

newspaper articles!" These credentials sound impressive, but
notice that you aren't given enough information (dates,
newspaper names) to look them up.

“This is not a scam." Scammers say this all the time. They
might even cite specific laws that "prove" their legality. Don't
fall for this trick. A legitimate business doesn't spend time
"convincing" you of its honesty.
 Ways to Spot an Internet Bandit

"Secret" method available "only to a limited number of people."

A typical scam ad reaches thousands or millions of users.
That's a strange way to reveal a secret! Scammers accept a
"limited number" of responses so they can close their business
quickly and run away with people's money.

Requests for your password. Never reveal your password to

anybody. Your system administrator never needs to ask you for
it. If somebody asks you to change your password to a known
word for "system testing," be immediately suspicious.

Unsolicited email. If you get email from a stranger out of the

blue, offering to give or sell you something, treat it with
suspicion
 Ways to Spot an Internet Bandit

Requests for your credit card number. Don't send your credit
card number to anybody by email. If your mail software
supports encryption, this can help protect the number, but it
may not be foolproof. Some encryption techniques are better
than others.

LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS and punctuation!!! Be skeptical of

ads that shout at you, like "MIRACLE CURE!!!" or "Learn how to
make BIG $$$$$ MONEY in NO TIME AT ALL!!!!!

Hidden costs. Watch out for ads that shout "it won't cost you a
penny to get started" and then quietly charge you an "entrance
fee."
 Quackery Project
20 pts.

Create a product using Play-Doh that would be

considered quackery. Make a radio advertisement
for your product.

In your radio announcement, you should clearly

identify 2 “RED FLAG” statements.

Your product should be related to one of the

commonly targeted areas of medical frauds (ex.
Arthritis, Cancer, HIV/AIDS)