Adverts for 'tonsil stones treatment' share fabricated Philippine govt certifications
- Published on February 28, 2024 at 08:03
- 5 min read
- By Lucille SODIPE, AFP Philippines
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"Bad breath because of bacteria or the presence of tonsil stones, there's a solution for that," reads the Tagalog-language text overlay to a Facebook video promoting a product called "Tonsicure Softgels".
The five-minute long clip had been viewed over 220,000 times since it was posted on February 7.
It shows what appears to be a news report where Filipino doctor Angeli Carlos-Hiceta says tonsil stones can develop in people with chronic tonsil inflammation or those with poor oral hygiene.
Near the end of the clip, a narrator could be heard saying "Tonsicure Softgels" is an "effective, doctor-recommended treatment approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration" for tonsil stones.
The post linked to a website where users could apparently order the product.
The web page featured images that appear to show "Tonsicure Softgels" had been approved by the FDA, as well as other purported certifications from industry regulator DTI and internal revenue agency BIR.
The alleged documents all indicated these were issued in 2023 to a firm called "Thom's Pharma and Medical Supplies Distribution".
Similar posts on Facebook here and here also touting the product racked up over 350,000 more views.
"Tonsil stones" are calcified food particles, dead cells, bacteria and other materials that form in the crevices of the tonsils.
Experts say these pebble-like lumps are generally not harmful but can cause discomfort and lead to bad breath, difficulty swallowing and earache (archived link).
The National Health Services in the United Kingdom and the University of Southern California's Keck Medicine say saltwater gargles can help manage the condition (archived links here and here).
They add in serious cases, doctors will need to evaluate whether surgery is needed.
The "Tonsicure Softgels" product, however, had not been approved by Philippine regulators as a treatment for the tonsil condition. An AFP analysis found the purported government certifications in the adverts are actually fabricated.
Fake documents
The product's purported licence to operate noted it was issued to a "health & pharma distributor" but no such category exists on official FDA records (archived link).
The document also included a line that had mistakenly described the license as issued to a distributor of "cosmetic products". Below is a screenshot showing the errors:
The firm "Thom's Pharma and Medical Supplies Distribution" was actually listed as a "drug distributor" in the FDA's files (archived link). The company did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Multiple keyword searches did not find any registration for "Tonsicure Softgels" in the FDA's food or drug databases (archived links here and here).
Meanwhile, the DTI "business name registration" supposedly issued in 2023 bore the signature of former trade secretary Gregory Domingo. He left the post in September 2015 (archived links here and here).
The BIR "tax registration" record also bore an inconsistent issue 2023 date with a documentary stamp from 2010.
Altered news reports
Moreover, further keyword searches on Google found the video advert for "Tonsicure Softgels" show two separate news reports that originally made no reference to the product.
The clip used from the beginning of the video until its 1:22 mark was from a segment aired by local media outlet DZRH News Television in 2018 about bad breath caused by bacteria in the mouth (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video circulating online (left) and the original DZRH post (right):
The rest of the video is from a 2021 episode of a local medical show called "Pinoy MD" where doctor Angeli Carlos-Hiceta discussed tonsil stones (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video advert (left) and the original Pinoy MD post (right):
Nowhere in the video did Carlos-Hiceta mention "Tonsicure Softgels" as a treatment for tonsil stones. She told AFP on February 16: "I am not endorsing that product."
Philippine social media is awash with posts touting unproven medical products. AFP has repeatedly debunked these posts here, here and here.
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