Identify and review a healthcare PR story from national media.

Researchers find vitamin supplements may be useless or end up shortening our lives. Feature first seen in Daily Telegraph, later reported in May addition of Vitality Matters.

The Department of Health used Danish researches to undertake a survey on the general over use of vitamin supplements, in particular antioxidants, and found such supplements can actually fight off the body`s natural defences and may in fact help to increase the risk of early death by 16 per cent.

Out of the 230,000 people that were tested "no concluding evidence" was found to help support ideas that such supplements helped increase life expectancy,findings found that some actually helped "increase mortality."
( Vitality Matters. News, May 2008,P12.)

The feature acts as a governmental health campaign that uses shock tactics from real research to warn people over the risks of such supplements.A quote from the Department of Health suggests that, "There is a need to exercise caution in the use of high doses of purified supplements of vitamins."

The story includes details of how much the vitamin industry is worth, stating that around 12million Britons help to make the industry over £330 million a year in profits. This works in favour of the Department of Health in as far as discrediting the vitamin industry as only interested in making money.

The feature also adds weighty credibility by using a spokeswoman from the British Dietetic Association. The BDA act as a professional association and accrediting body for dietitians. Their work is largely based around:
Promoting education
Advancing the science and practise of dietetics
Regulating the relationship between dietitians and employees through their trade union body.
(www.thebritishdieteticassociation.co.uk)

Catherine Collins from the BDA said, "This is deeply worrying and shows that there should be more regulation for vitamins and minerals. They should be treated the same way as paracetamol with maximum limits on the dosage."

I would conclude that this kind of regulation is in fact,exactly what the Department of Health is looking for.