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SEOUL: The Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) has urged Korean pharmaceutical firm Samjin Pharmaceuticals not to feature K-pop girl group Girl's Day in its upcoming advertisements for their top-selling painkiller Geworin, reported Korean media.
The KPA believed that using a K-pop idol group to market Geworin might be sending the wrong message to youth that the drug is perfectly safe, which "may encourage them to abuse the product".
It said in a recent press statement that there have been reports of youth abusing Geworin - taking enough of it to experience side effects like dizziness and vomiting - so they could leave school early.
It also noted that there is a recent trend of youth taking Geworin "for diet purposes" - taking large doses of Geworin will induce vomiting, diarrhea as well as nausea, which in turn suppresses appetite.
In addition, the KPA pointed out that existing regulations "prohibit the administration of the medication to those below 15 years of age", which incidentally makes up the majority of an idol group's target audience - thereby making the use of an idol group to market Geworin rather inappropriate.
In light of all this, the KPA said it was "seriously concerned" about the matter and would move to block Geworin from being sold in pharmacies if Samjin Pharmaceutical goes ahead with its advertisements.
However, the pharmaceutical company said it still plans to air the advertisements featuring Girl's Day later this month, though it promised to conduct research to investigate the issues raised by the KPA and present the results next year.
-CNA/ha
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