Spearheaded by the China Consumers' Association and the China Health Care Science Technology Society, the step is the first attempt at the self-regulation of the production and management of an industry in China.

The participants have agreed to establish a committee to regulate the tonic industry and rebuild consumers' confidence in it.

According to Yang Shukun, the general-secretary of the China Consumers' Association, the committee will be made up of industry leaders and function as both a supervisor of and advocate for member businesses.

Every business participant is subject to the committee's rules and regulation, and has the right to use the committee's emblem on the package of its product.

Yang said since there are no standardized quality criteria for the tonic products with different functions and targeted consumer groups, the main responsibility of the committee is to ensure that the products of its members achieve their advertised result.

It is also within the committee's scope to repeal membership of delinquent firms, he added.

"We want to make the committee's emblem a real indicator of a trusted business," said Yang. "We will never allow the existence of one disgraceful business within the organization to spoil the reputation of all the others."

According to a survey conducted by the China Consumers' Association and the China Health Care Science Technology Society, using deceptive advertising has been wide spread in the tonic industry.

When faced with shortages of raw materials, some producers resort to cheap and inferior substitutes, choking the domestic market with dubious products. These acts have over the years damaged the reputation of the whole industry.

Consumers can now complain to the committee about the products of its member businesses. A business that is accused more than twice will be deprived of membership and the right to use the emblem if the complaints are proven valid.

Dong Jingsheng, deputy general-secretary of the consumers' association, said that making the tonic industry the "pilot field" is a decisive step towards introducing the mechanism across the country.

According to Pan Xuetian, the president of the China Health Care Science Technology Society, there are plans to enlarge the committee to include more than 20 member businesses in the near future.

The 3,000 tonic businesses in the country have developed more than 4,000 kinds of tonics in the last few years, with total sales of 30 billion yuan (US$ 3.6 billion) in 2000.

(21 Dragon News Net 07/31/2001)