Social Media and Supplement Advertising
About 8 in 10 users search the internet for health information, and 74% of those people use social media. Considering this shift in where the population goes for medical information, I believe there should be a change in regulations and requirements for what goes into online medical content, especially related to dietary supplements. In 2023, senators introduced the Protecting Patients from Deceptive Drug Ads Online Act to empower the FDA to issue warnings and impose fines for false or misleading drug information posted on line by social media influencers and telehealth companies. However, this legislation does not apply to dietary supplements, only prescription drugs. This type of enforcement makes sense, but there should be something similar for dietary supplements, considering they are far easier to access and are often advertised with broad claims related to weight loss, energy, sleep, or hormonal balance. A review of 100 Instagram posts from March 2021 about supplements fou...