Fake Health Ministry poster Oct. 24, 2010
Fake Health Ministry poster warning of dangers of milk consumption.
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Ronny Linder-Ganz
Ronny Linder-Ganz

Citizens in several cities across Israel were surprised last week to see posters bearing the Health Ministry logo warning of the "damage of milk consumption."

The posters included a long list of almost all illnesses that doctors know to be associated with milk: "Studies have found that milk causes juvenile diabetes, hardening and blockages of the arteries, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, asthma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, melanoma and pancreas and prostate tumors," the frightening posters read. "Milk is the main cause of allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, attention deficit disorders, anemia, runny noses, bronchitis, gallstones and more."

The posters did not stop with warnings and offered solutions: "For maximum calcium absorption, you should consume foods such as wholegrain sesame, wholegrain tahina, nuts, almonds, hummus, green leaves, soybeans, broccoli and beans."

Yaron, a Tel Aviv resident, told TheMarker that a poster was hung outside the children's daycare that his son attends: "It looked completely authentic, with the logo of the Health Ministry with the government symbol below. And I saw many people standing near the poster and speaking about it. It seemed strange to me that the Health Ministry would hang posters on electricity poles, but I think most people believed the poster to be real."

The Health Ministry said in a statement: "The posters are fraudulent and forged and were not produced by the Health Ministry. The Health Ministry views gravely the use of its symbol to deceive the public. The legal department of the Health Ministry has asked the police to investigate the matter."