Thai pharmacists complained to the makers of a soap opera about a scene that could lead viewers to mistake nausea medicine for the morning after pill.
In an open letter, Pharmacy Council President Kitti Pitaknitinan took Channel 3 to task over Mud Huajai Superstar for portraying its protagonist going to a drug store for emergency contraceptives only to be handed pills for nausea and vomiting. The scene was clear enough for sharp-eyed viewers to notice the difference.
Kitti wrote that while the Pharmaceutical Council ”acknowledges that such cases are for show … this scene in a highly popular drama series may mislead the audience and greatly affects the image and confidence of pharmacists.”
As it turned out, Kitti and his white-coated friends weren’t the only to notice. Numerous viewers chimed in that the show should be more responsible.
“I thought there had to be an issue,” Jularat Boonchoochuey wrote in reply to Kitti. “When I was watching the show, I knew it was wrong, but will other people know?”
Others just took shots at its overall mediocrity.
“I don’t like many parts of this drama such as its plot lines and characters,” Natheeya NooNat Sriarunsawat wrote. “So I choose not to watch. Save time by doing something else instead!”
But the Pharmaceutical Council wasn’t done. While it momentarily had everyone’s attention, it went on to nitpick the on-screen pharmacist’s handling of medicine, saying it was not at all accurate and the show should air a disclaimer in the future.