The French Federation of Diabetics wants to participate in the discussion. While a bill on the regulation of commercial influence will be examined starting Tuesday in the National Assembly, this patient association calls for the supervision of influencers in health issues.
In a press release sent to BFMTV.com, the Federation denounces the promotion by influencers of “miracle cures for diabetes, anti-diabetic treatments for weight loss or even medical devices for ‘lifestyle’ use”.
An antidiabetic used to lose weight.
The last alert on this issue dates from the beginning of March, with a reminder from the ANSM and the Health Insurance that the antidiabetic drug Ozempic “should be reserved for the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes”.
“Field reports report misuse in non-diabetics with the aim of losing weight,” explained the two public establishments in a joint press release.
The causes of this “misuse”, for the moment “limited” in France, lie partly on the side of the TikTok social network. People sometimes very closely (mainly Americans, but not only) recount their “weight loss journey” thanks to this drug without necessarily having diabetes.
It is about “advertising health products that correspond to a rigorous framework, which in these cases is not respected”, denounced Jean-François Thébaut, vice president of the FFD, to BFMTV.com.
Ozempic is not a trivial product and may have undesirable effects, such as gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis or hypoglycemia. The ANSM and the Health Insurance also point out that “the diversion of this drug for weight loss has a direct impact on its availability for diabetic patients and can cause, or accentuate, supply tensions by depriving them of this essential treatment.”
Medical devices for “entertainment”
The FFD also targets content creators who are shown with a glucose sensor even if they are not diabetic, as the influencer I am not pretty did last summer. These devices allow you to measure your glucose level in real time and avoid regular finger pricks.
“These behaviors undermine the image of a community”, that of people with diabetes, says Jean-François Thébaut.
They give “a playful side, of well-being to these devices, while diabetes is an important and restrictive disease. Some people were hurt to see that they were used for entertainment,” explains the vice president of the French Federation of Diabetics.
According to Public Health France, a public body under the Ministry of Health, diabetes affects more than 3.6 million people in France: this chronic disease exposes you to many complications, such as stroke or heart failure.
The FFD requests the suspension of the accounts in question
This association would like the bill presented by the deputies Stéphane Vojetta and Arthur Delaporte, Renaissance and Socialist – Nupes respectively, goes further. For now, the text helps clarify that the rules that apply to advertising on all other channels also apply to influencers.
The FFD “demands that the accounts on the social networks of ‘influencers’ that promote the ‘out-label’ use of medical treatments or devices be suspended and, in the most serious cases, a systematic persecution for illegal medical or pharmaceutical practice.”
In a more general way, it asks to “specify the framework applicable to information and communication related to medical devices”, the denounced facts being not always publications within the framework of paid associations.
Source: BFM TV
