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Prof. Andrzej Bochenek, one of the most famous Polish cardiac surgeons, announced that his image was unlawfully used to promote supplements. He stressed that he did not advertise any medications. “I warn you against buying drugs advertised in my name,” he said.
- Prof. Andrzej Bochenek warns against buying drugs and supplements advertised with his name
- The image of the cardiologist was used illegally
- This is another such case. Recently – once again – the name of the cardiologist Adam Torbicki was used to sell this type of preparations
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Prof. Loaf: Don’t buy the drugs advertised in my name
On the website of American Heart of Poland, a network of clinics co-founded by prof. Andrzej Bochenek, information appeared that the cardiac surgeon does not recommend any pharmaceuticals, and his image has been illegally used to promote supplements.
«Information on the professor’s alleged command concerned dietary supplements and appeared, inter alia, in on Facebook and as internet advertisements »- we read in the release.
There was also a video in which prof. Loaf warns against buying drugs signed with his name. – No drugs, neither those sold in pharmacies nor those sold online, have ever advertised – emphasizes the doctor and adds that the only recommendations we can rely on are those issued by the Polish Society of Cardiology.
As the professor emphasizes, he originally did not want to react. – But when patients appeared in my office, who showed me drugs that they bought because I advertised them, I decided that I needed to speak on this matter – he says in the recording.
– I am speaking on this matter for the sake of patients’ well-being – she emphasizes.
Prof. Andrzej Bochenek is a co-founder of the American Heart of Poland clinic network, he also founded and for many years managed the cardiac surgery clinic at the Upper Silesian Medical Center in Katowice-Ochojec. In 1984–1988 he was the deputy of prof. Zbigniew Religa at the Department of Cardiac Surgery in Zabrze, together with him he participated in the first successful heart transplants.
This is another case of unlawful use
We recently wrote about a similar case involving the cardiologist Adam Torbicki. Prof. Torbicki fell victim to fraudsters who created an advertisement for preparations allegedly lowering too high blood pressure and used his image. His wife, Grażyna Torbicka, who warned against such advertisements, informed about the whole incident on InstaStories.
‘Don’t be fooled, this is fake news. Professor Adam Torbicki does not advertise anything. Lawyers reported this image infringement to the prosecutor’s office many times, to no avail, unfortunately » — the journalist wrote.
The image of prof. Torbicki has been used illegally before. In 2020, in an interview with the Pleiades, he confessed that his face and name are used for promotion dietary supplements, which he immediately reported to the prosecutor’s office. However, she decided that the case did not constitute a prohibited act and would not be pursued.
Some time later, the image of a medic was used to advertise a preparation whose “name resembled a known medicine for cardiovascular problems”.
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Actors will not be able to pretend to be doctors in commercials
From next year, advertising of medical devices will change significantly. If no doctor wants to lend them an image, we will not see people in white coats. This will happen thanks to the act, under which the actor will no longer be able to play the role of a doctor, pharmacist or other medical professional in an advertising spot or on a billboard and recommend medical devices. This is the result of the act passed by the Sejm on April 7, 2022, which regulates these issues for the first time. Direct advertising of such products to children or their parents will also be prohibited.
The change in regulations results from the adaptation of Polish law to EU regulations, i.e. to two regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 2017. However, they left the freedom to adjust the rules on advertising of medical devices to Member States.
Medical devices are a very broad concept. This includes orthopedic collars, condoms, contact lenses, examination gloves, protective masks, wheelchairs, hydrogel dressings, disposable catheters, blood containers and heart valves.
«The new regulations regulate the issue of advertising directed to the public. Among them were introduced, among others ban on the use of the image of medical professionals and ban on advertising of products intended for use by professional users » — Arkadiusz Grądkowski, president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Medical Devices POLMED, spoke in an interview with Medonet.
As he explained, the project developers were guided by the concern for the well-being of patients, so that the content of advertisements reaching them was reliable and related to the products they could use.
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