March 25, 2010

The Department of Health has directed licensed proprietary Chinese medicine manufacturer Li Chung Shing Tong (Holdings) Ltd HK to submit progress reports on the recall of its two forms of Po Chai pills.

The department yesterday ordered all the company's Po Chai pills in both capsule and bottle forms removed from local retail outlets and consumers after learning the Singaporean authority had detected the banned cancer-causing drug phenolphthalein and anti-obesity drug sibutramine in the capsule form. Singapore started a recall on March 8, and notified Hong Kong yesterday.

By Alice Park Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2010

The Beatles sang that money can't buy you love. But what about happiness? Research consistently shows that the more money people have, the more likely they are to report being satisfied with their lives.

And that makes sense: money buys you things that make life easier and more satisfying; the easier your life, the happier you tend to be. That relationship isn't entirely linear, since there's a limit to how much wealth can please you; the happiness benefit of an increasing income is especially powerful among people who don't have much money to start with, and diminishes as wealth increases. But studies also reveal that as average income levels have risen over time — in the U.S. and European nations, for example — residents of those countries have not reported being any happier than people were 30 or 40 years ago. It's a paradox that while income and happiness may be associated within a population at any given moment, overall economic growth does not appear to correspond to a boost in national satisfaction over time.

2010/03/23
PETALING JAYA: If consumers are regarded as kings, then why should they need protection?
It is simply because there are manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers who often take advantage of the consumers' weakness in exerting their right, said Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem, former executive director of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER).

Speaking at the launch of the Consumer Research and Resource Centre (CRRC) here, he said the consumer could only be king if he operated in a group and not as an individual.

Tuesday March 23, 2010

THE Penang state government will show its support for Earth Hour by switching off the lights of Komtar, City Hall and Town Hall and hopes the public would do the same at home.

State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law also urged schools, shopping malls, factories and other organisations to switch off their lights for an hour on March 27.

The Consumer Research and Resource Centre and its new Journal the CRRC Consumer Review were launched by Prof. Emeritus Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem on 20 March 2010 in conjunction with World Consumer Rights Day 2010.

Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, Chairman of the Board of Directors and also President of FOMCA explained that consumer issues have become increasingly complex. The new forces affecting and shaping consumer protection and interests include globalization, increasing food and energy process, water shortages and climate change issues.