Miracle product sparks health warning

A "miracle" potion that claims to cure everything from the common cold to HIV is for sale in the Bay - but health officials warn it is actually bleach and can make people sick.
Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS, is being sold by a holistic health practitioner in Mount Maunganui and can be bought on the internet.
A Bay of Plenty Times investigation into the product has revealed it is nothing more than bleach, which in high doses can cause serious harm.
As a result of the paper's inquiries, the country's medicine safety authority Medsafe has issued an official warning about it.
"The products instruct consumers to mix the 28 per cent sodium chlorite solution with an acid such as citric acid. This mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach used for stripping textiles and industrial water treatment," the warning says.
"High oral doses of this bleach, such as those recommended in the labelling, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and symptoms of severe dehydration."
But the local man selling it, Richard Tax from Holistic Wellness, remains defiant.
Mr Tax said he would continue to supply it until it was banned.
"I think it is better than any medicine available. I wouldn't be selling it if I didn't think it worked."
According to the product's inventor, Jim Humble, MMS elevates the body's natural immune defence by killing pathogens in the body.
Mr Humble claims the product can treat multiple diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, and cancer, as well as acne.
Mr Tax said when a natural product like MMS worked well, there were ramifications for pharmaceutical companies.
"[They'll] be losing money if everyone has this product and this is scaring the Government so there is pressure on them to ban it ..."
The Food Standards Authority in Britain warned the public against the use of Miracle Mineral Solution last year.
This was followed by similar warnings from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States and Health Canada in Canada.
Tauranga-based medical researcher Professor Shaun Holt, who first alerted the Bay of Plenty Times to the product being sold here, said: "You don't need to be a health professional to know it's not healthy to be taking in amounts of bleach."