Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8583

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Lackner C.
For cures to colds, it's buyer beware
The Ottawa Citizen; with files from The Washington Post 2007 Feb 16
http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=dab743b5-8a87-453c-99e8-01d2f308f6af&k=46139

Full text:

When Canadians walk into drugstores, they are greeted with more cold remedies than ever before. But just because the aisles are filled with natural health products and drugs that promise to combat the sniffles doesn’t mean we’re any healthier, pharmacists say.

While Health Canada gave its official seal of approval to the immune-boosting product COLD-fX yesterday, medical experts say consumers still need to take a cautious, “buyer beware” approach when examining solutions to runny noses and coughs.

COLD-fX, a popular ginseng-based remedy that claims to reduce the duration and severity of colds, is part of a crowded marketplace, said Paul Davies, pharmacy manager at the Glebe Apothecary.

“There certainly seem to be more and more options, but a lot of it is really just marketing,” Mr. Davies said. “There could be five different brands that have this combination of medicines in them. One isn’t necessarily better than another.

“I don’t know if we’re any healthier, but we are better informed.”

From name-brand drugs like Tylenol, Dimetapp, Robitussin and Benylin, to alleged cold-preventing supplements such as ginseng, zinc and echinacea, there is ongoing scientific debate as to what works and what doesn’t. And in many cases there is no conclusive answer.

If a herbal remedy sold in Canada has a natural product number (NPN) on its label — a designation now given to COLD-fX — Health Canada has validated any health-related claims it advertises. But Mr. Davies said that doesn’t mean products without a designation don’t work; their producers may simply not have the resources or desire to attain the same government status. Products without approval can’t make definitive health-benefit claims, but they can still attract consumers with their ingredients and packaging.

“Be wary of the packaging and marketing,” Mr. Davies said. “The claims and wording on some labels can sometimes lead people to think they are buying something (they’re not).”

There is a key difference between drugs such as Tylenol and herbal immune-boosters like ginseng, he said. The former relieve the symptoms of the cold and the flu, whereas the latter are thought to potentially reduce the frequency and length of illnesses.

Alleged immune-boosters — including ginseng and echinacea — are thought to stimulate white blood cells to combat viruses and bacteria.

But scientific studies on the benefits of herbal supplements have repeatedly brought conflicting results. A clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 said echinacea had no benefits, whereas a 2006 multi-study review by the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research in Munich said it could reduce cold symptoms if consumed early enough.

Ronald Turner, pediatrics professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said neither vitamin C, echinacea or zinc have shown any conclusive benefits in clinical trials.

“Take everything you read with a grain of salt,” Dr. Turner said, noting some studies may conflict due to flaws in their design or the media misinterpreting and overplaying certain conclusions.
While drugs and natural health supplements can work in tandem, Dr. Turner said people should consult with a professional before combining products in order to avoid side-effects and ensure they’re taking the right approach to combatting their particular cold symptoms.

Infants have an average of five or six colds a year, while most adults have two or three. The prevalence of colds has turned the remedy business into an economic and marketing juggernaut, said Michael Mulvey, a marketing and social trends expert at the University of Ottawa’s School of Management.

Mr. Mulvey said people are always concerned with staving off the next potential cold.

“A lot of people view (colds) as a starting point and entry point to other illnesses … when your immune system takes a beating, it tends to open things up.”