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)

McDonalds Value Meal: $6.29

Healthy Lean Ground Beef 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: $5.69

Cost $3.79

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 pencilSo 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 safeEnsures medicines are safe and properly labeledRegulates 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

QUACKERY/FRAUD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH7_VAMMuog

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/HopeMany 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 magicSome 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 suspicionMany 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

Play on 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 Project20 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)