Advertisements on social media market the dietary supplement as a cheap medicine for diabetics that normalises blood sugar levels forever. The product is not approved to treat any type of diabetes and has no known effect against the disease, according to the Medical Products Agency.
It can be potentially fatal if you replace doctor-prescribed diabetes treatment with the product, according to the authority, which has been contacted by the public as the advertisement has been circulating for a short time.
It is problematic if diabetics believe that the dietary supplement can replace their regular drug treatment. Therefore, we want to quickly come out and urge people always to contact their doctor before interrupting their regular drug treatment, says Frida Baeckström, investigator at the Medical Products Agency.
The ads are anonymous, so the authority does not know who the advertiser is. The same advertising has also been directed at other countries within the EU.
The Medical Products Agency does not supervise dietary supplements; that responsibility lies with the municipalities and the Swedish National Food Agency.
We take action if a dietary supplement is marketed with claims that it can help against diseases, then we can ban the marketing, says Frida Baeckström.
Frida Baeckström cannot comment on whether the authority will ban the marketing of this particular dietary supplement.
We don't know yet, we have just started this case, she says.
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