Posted 12 February 2010
Here is part of one of the Simply Slim advertisements that have appeared in many media throughout the country. The slogan reads Simplifying Slimming Naturally. Paradoxically however several allegations have been made that it is not a natural product but contains a registered medicine.
Simply Slim epitomises the mess that has developed in the complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) market in the absence of adequate regulatory oversight in South Africa. It was announced that the Medicines Control Council had ruled on 27 January 2010 that sales of the product should be suspended because of health risk concerns. It’s ironic then that a half-page advertorial in the Sunday Times of 31 December, 2010, in defence of the product and claiming that all the existing regulatory requirements had been adhered to, was published. (The MCC’s directive to Simply Slim was made on 2 February, 2010 and Simply … Read the rest