Vitamins

My mom left to visit relatives in Asia a few weeks ago. Before she left, we went to Costco, dutifully buying bottles of vitamins to bring back. Vitamin B-12, E, C, "One-A-Day" pills, etc. This was requested by my relatives back in Asia. And my relatives are not unique. Almost every Asian I know, when they go back to Asia for a visit, would have vitamins in their suitcases.
Why is this?

First of all, I guess vitamins are one of the few things that are still labelled "Made in USA". Most consumer goods are now imported from Asia, so it seems silly to take those back to Asia as gifts.
The main reason, I think, is the believe that vitamins from US is "real". Less chance of it being some fake vitamins. Since China is so famous for pirating CD/DVD, people are afraid that they would do so for vitamins too. And I tend to agree with that sentiment, just because the regulations are more strict in US and the government is less corrupt.

Now, if people are so afraid that they're being cheated, that seems to me that the effect of vitamins are not very obvious. You could be taking the "fake" stuff for years and won't know it. Which also means that when you are taking the real stuff, you probably don't know the difference either.

I try to take Vitamin C every day, although that rarely happens. Maybe when I'm feeling sick I would remember taking it. I guess I don't really "believe" in its effects.

If you're wonder what the different Vitamins are for, you can read the reviews on this website: linky