Claim: Low-quality tablets opening up into a tissue paper available in the market
Rating: False
Fact: The product shown in the video is actually a tissue and not a tablet.
Are fraudsters selling tissues in the form of fake tablets to consumers? A video of a tablet opening into a tissue was shared with us on our helpline by a reader. In the video, a person can be seen taking out a tablet from the strip and opening it like a cloth. The guy in the video speaking in Oriya says, "On the back of the strip there is no name of which company manufactured this, not its contact/ address and nor is the medicine's composition written. There has to be a manufacturing and expiry date, bur there is nothing except the name of the medicine, Zota." The video can be seen below.
[video width="224" height="400" mp4="https://www.boomlive.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/tissue-tablets.mp4"][/video]
We searched for the video and found that it was posted a month ago on Facebook. But the voice of the guy talking in Oriya is overlaid by music and with some graphics which read, 'Too comfortable tissue paper available in the China Market'. The post is titled, "Tissue paper in tablet form available in market. Technology development."
We found another video on Facebook that warns viewers to take care as tissue tables are being sold in the market.
This video had gone viral in Odisha in June 2017 with several news sites like OMMCOMM News and Odishatv.in debunking the prospect of fake medicines being sold in the market. The reports explain how a misunderstanding between a doctor and his patient led to the video going viral in the state.
What happened?
A woman identified as Sita Rana of Bileisarada village in Bolangir district in Odisha, consulted a private doctor, Dr P K Panda for her ailment. Speaking to Ommcomnews, Panda said, "“Two women had come to me and they were quite weak. I prescribed them the compressed pure wipes which come in tablets size and had asked them to use it as wipes during sweating. I even prescribed some medicines for them. They must have got confused or unable to understand.”
But in a report filed by Odisha TV, Dr Panda admitted to his mistake and said he might have given the sample medicine in haste without checking it.
The news reports also mentions that without verifying, some media houses projected it as the failure of the state's healthcare system.
When we watched the video carefully, we found a frame clearly showing the logo of Zota on the tablet strip and got in touch with Zota HealthCare Ltd. We spoke to Himanshu Zota, a director of the company who checked the video and said that the product shown in the video is a tissue and not tablets meant for patients. They had manufactured it and gifted to doctors as part of their product promotion, for their personal use. Once water is poured on the tablet, it becomes a wet tissue. Zota said that the fake message has creating a confusion.
Tissue tablets are not unheard of and are very easily available online. See the video below.
Below is a video showing what exactly happens when you pour a few drops of water onto the tablet tissue.