Was duped by weight-loss pill ad, says Venkaiah Naidu
, TNN|
Updated: Dec 30, 2017, 06.31 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Asking the government to take steps to end the menace of misleading and fake advertisements, vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday shared his own experience of how he lost Rs 1,230 for weight loss pills.
"Soon after becoming the vice president, I came across an advertisement for a medication which promised to help lose weight in 28 days. I talked to a few people. But they said this was not true. Then I saw the advertisement, which mentioned that the consumer needed to pay Rs 1,230 and I made the payment," Naidu said in Rajya Sabha. But instead of receiving a package of the pills, Naidu received a packet which asked him to pay Rs 1,000 more to get the "original medicine".
He took up the issue with the consumer affairs ministry and, after inquiry, it was found that the advertisement was being hosted from the US. "The government must take measures to stop this menace no matter whether the advertisements are originating from the US or any other country," Naidu said.
"Soon after becoming the vice president, I came across an advertisement for a medication which promised to help lose weight in 28 days. I talked to a few people. But they said this was not true. Then I saw the advertisement, which mentioned that the consumer needed to pay Rs 1,230 and I made the payment," Naidu said in Rajya Sabha. But instead of receiving a package of the pills, Naidu received a packet which asked him to pay Rs 1,000 more to get the "original medicine".
He took up the issue with the consumer affairs ministry and, after inquiry, it was found that the advertisement was being hosted from the US. "The government must take measures to stop this menace no matter whether the advertisements are originating from the US or any other country," Naidu said.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)
