Repeatedly on the black list, repeatedly approved the letter Hongmao medicinal wine: "We are a formal enterprise"

2016 Hongmao Jiuquan Beijing Square Dance Competition Chaoyang District Selection Competition. (Oriental IC / map)

 

(This article first appeared on March 22, 2018, "Southern Weekend")

 

In the past seven years, Hongmao Jiuquan has obtained 1,186 advertisement approvals. Although it has been notified by 25 provincial and municipal food and drug supervision departments that it is illegal, it is still getting bigger and bigger. Southern Weekend reporters called Hongmao Pharmaceuticals to ask how the conclusions of treatment can be drawn. In recent years, there have been no clinical trials. The person in charge of the product propaganda department did not respond positively, but repeatedly stressed that "we are a formal enterprise."

 

"This is the Hongmao medicinal liquor that you can buy. This wine can cure rheumatism and qi and blood, but it is not cheap!" In 2016, when such a line appeared in the domestic drama "Chinese-style relationship", the audience put on this kind of implant advertisement. Early learning is commonplace.

 

However, most people are not aware of this. In this drama, the red medicinal liquor that can be used as a gift to the elderly and a drink on the table is not an ordinary medicinal liquor.

 

Since 2018, Inner Mongolia Hongmao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hongmao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) has not been calm. Due to the "Shen medicine" advertising turmoil caused by eye drops Sapu Aisi, Hongmao medicinal liquor was brought into the public eye. Netizens found that this medicinal liquor made from 67 Chinese herbal medicines is a veritable over-the-counter (OTC) marketing player. In the past seven years, the number of drug advertisement approvals starting with 1186 “Mongolian” characters has been doubled. The second "Ejiao" advertising number.

 

On the other hand, since 2007, the advertisements of Hongmao Jiujiu have been reported illegally by 25 provincial and municipal food and drug supervision departments such as Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shanxi and Hubei, and even suspended for dozens of times. Although the publicity campaign has been questioned by the public, the media and local regulatory authorities, it seems that Hongmao Pharmaceuticals will always be able to make a fuss, and the approval of the local regulatory authorities has never stopped.

 

On March 8, 2018, the Inner Mongolia Food and Drug Administration issued a statement saying that the Autonomous Region Bureau attached great importance to the recent publications of some domestic media and self-media (WeChat public account) or reprinted the advertisements of Hongmao medicinal liquor. The pharmaceutical industry and the advertising industry have reviewed and demonstrated the legality and compliance of the Hongmao medicinal liquor advertisement. The conclusion is that the “Hongmao medicinal liquor advertisement complies with the relevant provisions of the “Advertising Law”, “Pharmaceutical Advertising Review Measures” and “Drug Advertising Review and Release Standards”.

 

Is medicine not wine

 

Many people have only recently learned that Hongmao medicinal liquor is not a medicine.

 

Whether it is TV, radio or newspaper, "two daily, healthy and longevity" "a good method for comprehensive conditioning of middle-aged and elderly people", "everything is paying attention to health" and other similar advertisements are frequently used by Hongmao medicinal liquor. In the TV drama, Hongmao medicinal wine is often placed on the table with food.

 

In fact, the wine is only a dosage form, and the medicinal wine can be a food or a health food or a medicine.

 

Wang Dahong, secretary-general of the Health Care Products Market Working Committee of the China Health Care Association, told the Southern Weekend reporter that because of the homologous system of medicines and foods, some wines contain Chinese herbal medicines, but they are only ordinary synthetic wines and cannot claim efficacy. Some enterprises that have not obtained health food certification use the psychology of consumers to pursue “health care” and “health care”, exaggerating and falsely publicizing the prepared wines they produce have certain health functions, and even risk adding illegal drugs.

 

As a health food, the medicinal liquor is mainly based on health and fitness, and has the function of health and strengthening. Wang Dahong said that it is expensive to declare health food batch numbers. The product formula and process need to undergo strict review and approval, and must pass the national record and have strict adaptation to the population. In the database of the State Food and Drug Administration, the "health wine" or "tonic" as the key word in the health food category, you can find nearly 100 approvals.

 

The same keywords can be found under the drug category, and hundreds of “National Medicine Standards” approvals can be found. As a medicinal liquor produced by pharmaceuticals, it is necessary to apply for drug registration. After obtaining the approval number, apply for the Pharmaceutical Production License and the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, and the supervision is more stringent.

 

Hongmao medicinal liquor is a Chinese medicine for liquor. In 1992, it was approved by the state as an over-the-counter drug; in 1998, it was listed as a national Chinese medicine protection variety. According to the official website, "drugs drink alcohol, alcohol to help the drug", the function of this medicinal wine is hurricane dehumidification, qi and collaterals, Shujinhuoxue, spleen and warm kidney, for cold and dampness, muscle and bone pain, spleen and stomach Deficiency of cold, kidney deficiency, backache and women's qi deficiency and blood loss.

 

Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the 309th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, once said in the media that since the Hongmao medicinal liquor is a medicine, it is impossible for everyone. Pregnant women, children, liver and gallbladder diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and other people are not suitable. "Some products are exaggerated in order to attract eyeballs and claim that many diseases can be treated."

 

In the instructions of Hongmao medicinal liquor, there are also practical taboos and 14 precautions such as "children, pregnant women are banned; yin deficiency and impotence are forbidden; liver and kidney dysfunction and alcohol allergy are forbidden".

 

A professor at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine told Southern Weekend reporters that as a medicinal liquor for medicines, the suitable population depends on its composition and content. Of course, "drinking is still determined according to the indications of the product."

 

Southern Weekend reporters called Hongmao Liquor, asked how the conclusions of treatment of these diseases can be drawn, and whether clinical trials have been conducted in recent years, but the head of the Propaganda Department did not respond positively, but repeatedly stressed that "we are a formal enterprise."

 

In addition to the unclear efficacy, the safety of the medicinal materials in Hongmao medicinal liquor has also been questioned. According to the product information, Hongmao Liquor contains a total of 67 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines, and there are many common Chinese herbal medicines such as Polygonum, Aconite, Black Medicine and Pinellia.

 

The online customer service of Hongmao Liquor Official Mall acknowledges that Chinese herbal medicines such as Polygonum multiflorum and Aconite are indeed toxic. However, she explained that there is no toxicity after eight steps of processing such as processing and other frying. "Twice a day, once 15 ml, a course of treatment is three and a half months, no side effects."

 

Repeatedly official black list

 

According to incomplete statistics, Hongmao medicinal liquor was reported to be illegal by 25 provincial and municipal food and drug supervision departments, and was repeatedly ordered to stop selling due to false propaganda.

 

The biggest problem is the offending advertisement. The newly revised advertising law of September 1, 2015 stipulates that drug advertisements must not contain assertions or guarantees indicating efficacy and safety; indicate cure rate or efficiency, and use advertisement spokespersons to make recommendations and certificates.

 

Li Enze, a lawyer at Beijing Yipai Law Firm, told Southern Weekend reporters that in the legal sense, most of the implanted advertisements also meet the requirements of commercial advertising in the advertising law and belong to commercial advertisements. According to the advertising law, non-prescription drug advertisements should be marked clearly as "please purchase and use according to the drug manual or under the guidance of the pharmacist".

 

In addition, Li Enze said, "The behavior of obscuring the properties of drugs will make consumers mistakenly think that Hongmao medicinal liquor is a common food or health care product, ignoring the adverse reactions and contraindications of drugs."

 

In 2007, the revised “Drug Advertising Review and Release Standard” was officially implemented. That is to say, since the beginning of this year, Hongmao medicinal liquor has frequently appeared on the list of illegal propaganda enterprises announced by the regulatory authorities.

 

The nature of its advertising violations includes “promoting the product in the name of experts and patients”, “publishing unapproved content”, “asserting unscientific expressions”, “advertising overtime”, “using celebrity endorsement drugs”, etc.

 

Even after the implementation of the new advertising law, the issue of illegal propaganda of Hongmao medicinal liquor has not been resolved. In the same month, the advertisement of Hongmao medicinal liquor endorsed by film star Chen Baoguo was investigated and dealt with by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce, and became the first case of illegal advertising after the implementation of the new law. .

 

However, the Inner Mongolia Food and Drug Administration explained in the notice on March 8 that the “first case of illegal advertisements” was that a pharmacy in Shanghai was not removed from the publicity materials that did not meet the requirements of the new law (with celebrity endorsements). The market supervision department ordered “to stop publishing illegal advertisements”. “The illegal subject of illegal activities is Shanghai pharmacy, not Inner Mongolia Hongmao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.”.

 

The notice also stated that "Since 2014, the Autonomous Regional Bureau has never received notices and notifications about illegal advertising of Hongmao medicinal liquor, and there is no letter to suspend sales measures. The illegal advertising monitoring data also did not involve Hongmao medicinal liquor. ”

 

Southern Weekend reporter noted that in May and June of 2016, the Anhui Food and Drug Administration twice exposed the “Huangmao Liquor Official Mall” website to have false propaganda and exaggerated product efficacy, and ordered it to stop publishing false product information. In April 2017, Hongmao Liquor appeared on the blacklist of the Yunnan Administration for Industry and Commerce. In response, the aforementioned Hongmao liquor propaganda department explained that they are still investigating the specific situation of the two notifications in Anhui and Yunnan. Hongmao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. implements the dealer system. Although the company has the duty of supervision, once the dealers “hidden”, such as tampering with advertisements without the company’s consent, the company is hard to find.

 

"Now we have set up a monitoring and broadcasting department to supervise the advertising. Once we find the dealer's illegal behavior, we will notify the dealer to stop immediately." But he also said that the collection and feedback of such information takes a certain amount of time. "We are willing to communicate and speak, but not now."

 

Article 55 of the Advertising Law stipulates that if there are more than three illegal acts or other serious circumstances within two years, the advertising expenses shall be more than five times and less than ten times the fine. The business license may be revoked and the advertisement review authority shall revoke the advertisement review and approval documents. Applications for advertising review will not be accepted within one year.

 

The illegal advertisements of Hongmao medicinal liquor were investigated and handled in various places, and the advertising approval of the Inner Mongolia Food and Drug Administration was never interrupted. The Southern Weekend reporter sent a letter to the Inner Mongolia Food and Drug Administration to inquire about the relevant situation. The person in charge of the inspection bureau said that the Autonomous Region Bureau had not received any notice or notification about the illegal advertisement of Hongmao medicinal liquor in the past two years, but it has once again moved to Anhui and Yunnan provinces. Verify that if there is any news, it will reply in time.

 

Grow in controversy

 

In the past two years, in the Liangcheng County of Wulanchabu City, Inner Mongolia, the local people Wang Shijie found that in the economically underdeveloped Liangcheng County, Hongmao medicinal liquor is gradually becoming “light luxury”. In the past few years, Hongmao medicinal liquor has generally appeared in two occasions - the recovery of the disease after the disease or surgery, it is regarded as a common health care product and tonic; on holidays, this is a common companion between relatives and friends. ceremony.

 

“Liangcheng County has a small place and close interpersonal relationships. At that time, many people were able to get Hongmao medicinal liquor cheaper than the ex-factory price.” Wang Shijie recalled. However, by the Spring Festival of 2018, 250 ml of Hongmao medicinal liquor sold for 160 yuan in a local specialty store, slightly higher than the official website price of 144 yuan.

 

In the midst of controversy, Hongmao Pharmaceutical has become a company with a retail scale of more than 7.5 billion yuan. In 2017 alone, the tax paid will reach 350 million yuan. In 2018, the work report of Liangcheng County Government of Wulanchabu City mentioned that the local enterprises represented by Hongmao National Medicine quickly rose, breaking the “one big” situation of Bohai Power Plant.

 

All these changes have been in the past ten years. Formerly known as the state-owned Liangcheng County Hongmao Winery, Hongmao Jiujiu was on the verge of bankruptcy. At the end of 2006, Bao Hongsheng and others acquired the winery in full. After a thorough rectification, its core product, Hongmao Liquor, was once again introduced to the market in October 2007.

 

"The current marketing methods are controlled by the actual controller of Hongmao Pharmaceutical, Bao Hongsheng and others." The aforementioned industry insiders told the Southern Weekend reporter that Bao Hongsheng, the legal representative of Hongmao Pharmaceutical, is a well-known person in the pharmaceutical marketing circle. Legal representative or executive of several pharmaceutical companies. In many introductions on the Internet, in 1996, as the national general agent of the “Huoxuebao” brand, in just three months, “Huoxinbao” became popular in the country and became the first domestic brand of kidney-reinforcing products in the same year; Its exclusive agent "Melf" series of weight loss products, created the first two consecutive years of weight loss products domestic sales. Since then, he has also participated in the development of "Tingmei" health underwear.

 

In October 2015, in the EMBA master's thesis of the Inner Mongolia University, “Hongmao Liquor Brand Culture Marketing Plan”, Duan Juhong, the general manager of Hongmao Pharmaceuticals, pointed out the mystery of the surge in sales of Hongmao.

 

"Celebrity endorsements" is one of the means - invited film star Chen Baoguo, singer De Dema, performance artists Xie Fang, Lei Yusheng and others to endorse the Hong Mao medicinal liquor. Taking into account the particularity of regional culture, Hongmao Jiujiu also invited celebrities in the cultural and sports circles to help out in the Jilin, Sichuan and Guangzhou markets. Advertising in the hot film and television drama is another marketing tool.

 

Du Hongju does not seem to evade this point of the practice of “shrinking the ball in the health care product mode and weakening the drug properties”. Through the marketing atmosphere and situation, the consumer and target markets are expanded to convey to the consumers that “no one can drink”. The concept of being able to drink while drinking, gathering at home gatherings for friends, and simply drinking medicine for the sake of nursery.

 

The three-dimensional crossover of TV stations and TV networks at all levels has made the popularity of Hongmao Liquor continue to increase. The fusion of “love parents, bring love to go home” and other “filial piety culture” makes middle-aged and elderly people become the main consumer groups of Hongmao medicinal liquor.

 

“The health awareness of the middle-aged and elderly groups is very strong, but the lack of professional knowledge has given the Hong Mao medicinal liquor a greater development space.” China food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng told Southern Weekend reporters.

 

“The Food and Drug Administration has no right to punish illegal advertisements, and the industrial and commercial enterprises with penalties have insufficient power.” Li Enze analyzed that with the institutional reform of the State Council, the General Administration of Food and Drug Administration was abolished, the General Administration of Market Supervision was established, and the past was in the industrial and commercial sector and food. Issues such as “drug violations” and “hygiene products exaggerated” between the supervisory departments may be more effectively regulated.