Evaluating compliance to regulatory requirements for the advertising and labeling of dietary supplements in Kampala District

Abstract

Background: The labeling of dietary supplements often make ungrounded therapeutic claims which are inaccurate and inconsistent with regulatory requirements. When it comes to advertisement, we observe a lot of misrepresentation of therapeutic claims on media platforms that put risk to public health as this leads consumers to make inappropriate health related decisions and also neglect healthy lifestyle behavior. Objective: To evaluate compliance to regulatory requirements for the advertising and labeling of dietary supplements in Kampala. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used observational research methods. A total of 203 retail pharmacies were visited for dietary supplements, listened to five radio stations, watched five television stations and read three newspapers brands. Check lists designed in a structured format helped to guide the observation process. Adverts from the TV and radio stations were video and audio recorded while photos of adverts in the newspapers were taken. Data from the check lists was entered into Excel and analyzed using Stata Version 14 while the audio records were thematically analyzed. Results: A total of 415 products of dietary supplements were identified from the pharmacies where botanical supplements (58.3%) were the most common, followed by vitamins and minerals (21%) and amino acids (11.8%). Most dietary supplements were imported (64.6%). However, compliance with labeling standards was inconsistent, with only 63.4% of products adhering fully to regulations. Botanical products (58.3%) were found to have the highest labels that were non-compliant to labelling standards. In terms of originality of product, 69.4% of locally produced supplements were found to be noncompliant. Additionally, therapeutic claims were present on 34.7% of the supplement’s labels. Advertisements for dietary supplements frequently made unverified therapeutic claims, especially on radio (55.3%) and television (48%). Conclusion: The dietary supplement market is gradually growing in Kampala, with heavy reliance on imported products and these generally had better compliance to labeling standards than the local products. A significant proportion of adverts, particularly on radio and television, made unverified therapeutic claims, hence the need for stronger regulatory enforcement in both product labeling and advertising.