On Dec. 10, the Sun Journal ran a very informative editorial. It was titled “Beware of miracle products,” which appeared on page A6 in the issue.

What the editor was honestly attempting to say was very exemplary due to the subject matter. It is one that has many concerns in the medical profession. The editorial writer was cautioning all of us who are overweight to be wary of untrue claims, made by shamans who advertise their pills and other products almost daily in a variety of publications, promising quick and easy results.

The editor concluded his admonition by this statement: “Don’t waste your time or money on products that promise results that are too good to be true.” I thought that was excellent advice.

Here comes the rub. On page B5 of the same issue, we are struck by a full-page advertisement telling the readers of this newspaper about a new “Major Breakthrough” diet pill that will rid an overweight person of “excess fat and water” that causes the “pot belly” in many overweight people.

All I can surmise in this circumstance was that the editor and the advertising department were not in sync with one another that day. If ever a claim was made that closely resembled a far-fetched claim, that ad was it.

Perhaps in future, the editor and the ad department manager should do lunch and discuss this obvious paradox. Such a thing could make one wonder how discerning the editorials of this newspaper really are.

F. Vincent Blais, Lewiston
Editor’s note: Sun Journal policy, like similar policies at other newspapers, mandates that a healthy distance be kept between news, opinion and advertising. We believe that it is in the best interest of our readers and the community for news and editorial judgments to be separated from the advertising side of the newspaper.

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