Godofredo U. Stuart MD
If you are a regular radio listener or tele-radyo viewer, station-scanning will inevitably bring you to one selling herbal or dietary supplements, likely touting a cure-all for many of the aches and pains and maladies of daily life: headaches, tiredness, dysmenorrhea, asthma, arthritis, hypertension, asthma, high cholesterol, diabetes, etcetera, some claiming disappearance of cysts and regression of tumors. Listen a little bit longer and you will likely hear a testimonial or two, one boasting to have discontinued all prescription medicines in lieu of their newly discovered herbal miracle.
The adverts will be embellished with words like “pure, 100% natural, and safe”; many will throw in “antioxidant!”; maybe a claim of “FDA approved”, real or not; “holistic” is a favorite; one or two, a money-back guarantee. And you’re slowly getting hooked, and thinking: “Wow! Maybe this is worth a try!. . . ” Then you hear this:
Mahalagang paalaala, ito ay hindi gamot at
hindi dapat gamitin sa ano mang kasakitan.In English, it translates into: An important reminder. This product is not a medicine and should not used as treatment for any kind of ailment or malady. It is the obligatory disclaimer, which, almost always, will speed through with an unintelligible Tagalog garble. (If there is a “speed law” for talking, this will merit a speeding ticket.) It’s not meant to be clear, but just to fulfill the requirement of law, to replace the “No Therapeutic Claims” or “No approved Therapeutic Claims” disclaimer. It matters not, anyway; by that time, you’re hooked, and ready to shell out your hard-earned money on this wow-of-a-product.