China's top drug authority has warned of the safety risks posed by unregulated medical devices allegedly designed for combating smog, saying that many of these promotions are nothing more than an advertising gimmick.
"Some people are promoting medical equipment online claiming to be 'smog busters' and to 'purify smog,' and some also illegally sold oxygen generators and portable oxygen respirators, taking advantage of smoggy days," said a statement released on the website of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).
It said that those shops are misleading customers and could cause safety problems.
Oxygen products are mainly designed for those who suffer hypoxia, it said, and suggested that customers only purchase medical devices from qualified sellers.
The production and selling of medical equipment requires an official license, and medical products also need to obtain a certification and permit to be sold online, the CFDA statement said.
The CFDA added that information relating to medical equipment can be found on its official website and customers can report illegal activities to relevant departments.
Many shops have oxygen generators for sale on taobao.com, China's largest online retailer, with prices ranging from 350 yuan ($51) to 3,600 yuan.
One shop selling the equipment at 988 yuan depicts the generators as health saviors, saying that they can protect people from smog and produce 90 percent pure oxygen.
One seller claims to have sold 4,017 oxygen generators in a month. Though the product, priced around 800 yuan, is not advertised as being for smoggy days, many of the customer reviews say they purchased the product specifically for use on polluted days.
Severe smog has triggered red alerts in more than 20 cities at the beginning of 2017, reports said.
From Sunday to Thursday, some parts in north and central China including Beijing and Tianjin suffered another round of smog, and people in affected areas were advised to take precautions.
Only one fifth of cities in China have met air quality targets in 2016, a speaker at a seminar on low-carbon development said on Tuesday.
Hao Jiming, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that "according to the air quality standard enacted in 2016, only 20 percent of 338 cities in China reached the national standard."
