A mushroom spray, oil of oregano and a special hat to kill coronavirus in saliva have all been targeted by Health Canada in its crackdown on misleading and false claims of COVID-19 prevention and cures.
A mushroom spray, oil of oregano and a special hat to kill coronavirus in saliva have all been targeted by Health Canada in its crackdown on misleading and false claims of COVID-19 prevention and cures.
The federal health agency has in recent weeks fielded dozens of complaints from Canadians reporting advertisements for products that claim to prevent, treat or cure the novel coronavirus that’s so far killed more than 80,000 people in a global pandemic.
In response, Health Canada sent compliance notices to a number of companies, and provided CBC News with a list of 27 cases where the ads were then “withdrawn,” along with details of the advertisements. It also contacted CBC’s French-language service Radio-Canada regarding an article about one product that erroneously claimed it had been approved by the agency.
The list shows how wide-ranging misinformation around COVID-19 prevention and treatment has become since the pandemic hit Canada, public health experts say.
“I like the fact that they’re going after the range, because we’re seeing misinformation and inappropriate marketing absolutely everywhere,” University of Alberta professor or health law and policy and pseudoscience critic Tim Caulfield said Tuesday.
“The mere fact that there’s all these claims out there shows how desperate people are for answers. But it also shows the ability — which is kind of depressing — of people to exploit the situation to sell unproven products.”
Canadian and U.S. health authorities continue to stress that there are no medications or health products approved to treat or cure COVID-19. The best way to avoid getting infected, authorities say, is to wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face, stay at least two metres from other people and remain at home as much as possible.
The 27 notices were for nine products claiming to prevent or treat the virus; eight related to the sale of masks; four related to household disinfectants or hand sanitizer; two related to respirators; and four others that Health Canada says violate the Food and Drug Act.
WATCH | CBC’s Marketplace debunks COVID-19 immunity scams:
Misinformation about so-called miracle cures for COVID-19 are spreading online. Can you really buy your way to a better immune system? We ask an expert: UBC professor Bernie Garrett, who studies deception in healthcare, including alternative medicine. 5:27
Claims made on Amazon Canada, for example, included: a mixture of mushrooms that could boost immunity and prevent COVID-19 and a special “anti-dust, anti-fog, anti-coronavirus” hat that could isolate infected saliva.
In a statement to CBC News on Tuesday, the online retail giant said it used both automated filters and human reviewers to remove products with COVID-related claims in their descriptions.
“Health Canada recently alerted us to a small number of products offered by sellers with inaccurate descriptions, which Amazon quickly removed,” the company said.
Naturopath claims ‘killing effect’ of oregano
Two health companies touted oil of oregano.
A health food chain in British Columbia advertised its company-made product by saying, according to Health Canada, “Worried about the latest coronavirus? See how oil of oregano can help!”
A naturopathic office in Toronto claimed a specific oregano oil had “the ability to halt virus replication in host cells infected with the h