The National Health Commission warned on Thursday against livestreams disguised as legitimate health lectures that aim to sell health products to the elderly.

Hu Qiangqiang, spokesman of the commission, said during a news conference that these livestreams often feature actors posing as medical experts, exaggerate or distort the effectiveness of health supplements, and sell them at inflated prices.

Some streams use tactics such as offering gifts, free lectures, or attendance rewards to attract older viewers, and then exploit their health anxieties and emotional needs to manipulate them and infringe upon their rights and interests.

He urged the public to remain vigilant against people posing as medical experts, small giveaways, and tactics involving repeated messaging, emotional bonding, or exaggerated health anxieties.

“Family members should also pay close attention to whether their elderly relatives have been invited to join private groups, attend online lectures, or make unusual purchases,” Hu said. “If anything seems off, they should verify the situation and discourage such behavior in time.”

Hu stressed that ordinary food and health supplements cannot replace medication or medical treatment, and that any claim suggesting a product can cure multiple diseases or reverse chronic conditions in place of proper medical care is unreliable.