Australian Broadcasting Corporation amends report on melatonin sales suspension after misattributing overdose data

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has issued a correction to its 29 August coverage of melatonin sales in Australia.

The original article reported that US-based retailer iHerb suspended sales of melatonin supplements to Australia following “an increase in calls to the WA poisons hotline” and a rise in cases of paediatric overdose. The story has since been updated to clarify that iHerb did not confirm whether the Western Australia Poisons Information Centre’s data influenced its decision to halt sales.

The piece also incorrectly stated that the 322 overdose calls logged by the WA Poisons Information Centre related solely to children. In fact, the figure covered all age groups.

Melatonin, widely used as a sleep aid, is tightly regulated in Australia compared with other countries where it is more freely available. The ABC correction underscores how inaccuracies in attributing causes and mischaracterising data can distort public understanding of health risks, particularly when children are invoked as the focus of concern.

As with other recent examples, the correction was appended after the original article had already circulated widely, raising questions about the lasting impact of the initial misreporting on public debate.