FTC fines weight loss pill firms $25M

[Utsaappt802]

Found this article on Yahoo News. Who hasnt known that there is no such think as weight loss in a bottle! Im glad they are getting it stuck to them finally. Hard work is what its all about, not popin pills.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070104/...ght_loss_pills

Or you can read it below.



WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday fined the marketers of four weight loss pills $25 million for making false advertising claims ranging from rapid weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer.

ADVERTISEMENT

FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said the products would remain on store shelves, but that the companies would have to stop making the false claims.

"What we challenge is the marketing of the claims," she said. "The marketers are required to back up the claims with the science and if they can't do that they can't make the claim. But we don't ban the products from the shelves."

The FTC investigated a variety of claims made — including rapid weight loss and reduction in the risk of osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and even cancer, Majoras noted.

Fines were levied against marketers of Xenadrine EFX, One A Day Weight Smart, CortiSlim and TrimSpa.

Telephone calls to the marketers seeking comment were not immediately returned Thursday.

Majoras said that some of the money paid as civil fines would be returned to consumers. "We always try to get money back when consumers have been deceived," she said. "In this instance I'm pleased to say that I believe we're going to get millions back from some of these products to be able to return it to consumers."

The largest fine was levied against two marketers of Xenadrine EFX, made by New Jersey-based Nutraquest, Inc., formerly known as Cytodyne Technologies. The marketers will pay at least $8 million and as much as $12.8 million. A federal lawsuit has been filed in Newark, N.J. The marketer was identified as RTC Research & Development, LLC, based in Manasquan, N.J.

A $12 million fine was assessed against seven marketers of CortiSlim and CortiStress. The marketers were identified as Window Rock Health Laboratories, based in Brea, Calif.

The Bayer Corp., based in Morristown, N.J., will pay a $3.2 million civil penalty to settle the claims. TrimSpa, based in Whippany, N.J., will pay $1.5 million. Goen Technologies Corp., also based in Whippany, marketed TrimSpa.

Majoras cautioned the estimated 70 million Americans trying to lose weight not to turn to pills.

"You're not going to find weight loss in a bottle of pills," she said.

She said the FTC investigation found that the marketers of Xenadrine had a study that said those who took a placebo actually lost more weight than those taking the pill.

"They not only didn't have studies to support the claim, they actually had a study that went the other way," she said.

Some of the products marketed their claims through infomercials or celebrity endorsements. Anna Nicole Smith, for example, has endorsed TrimSpa.

"Testimonials from individuals are not a substitute for science," Majoras said. "And that's what Americans need to understand."

[Biggeo]

Who's going to recieve this money? The government. Trust me, all those pills DO indeed work, but they are merely an aid and you have to exercise and eat well. There is no miracle weight loss pill. Shame on anyone who falls or fell for that type of marketing. Stupid people, and here is the government running in to supposedly protect us and then pocket the money.

Am I going to get money back because I've purchased Xenadrine? Yeah, right.

[Jaranath]

Originally Posted by Biggeo

Trust me, all those pills DO indeed work...

Indeed? Got some respectable peer-reviewed journal articles to support that claim? If so, then I highly recommend you take them to the lawyers representing Bayer and the others and demand a steep and well-deserved finder's fee.

Point is, even if these products do work, the claims are currently unsupported. The problem isn't that the FTC is going after them, but rather that they're going after so few companies, that the fines are paltry when they do, that in many cases the products are even on the market in the first place, and that even mainstream pharmaceutical companies are now getting into the market.

EDIT: The above may sound a bit mean, and I don't intend it to. Suffice it to say that I'm a stickler for the careful application of the scientific method to medical products, a category I lump weight-loss drugs into.

[Biggeo]

QUOTE=Jaranath]Indeed? Got some respectable peer-reviewed journal articles to support that claim? If so, then I highly recommend you take them to the lawyers representing Bayer and the others and demand a steep and well-deserved finder's fee.

I understand your point and respect your educated approach, but my days researching journal articals at Cal are over. I've personally taken almost everthing under the sun (not Trim Spa ), am my own guinea pig, and have learned first-hand what some of these supplements, legal and illegal, are capable of. I could in-fact write the article myself based on personal experiences.
My original first post was simply stating that the government will recieve this money from said companies, not supposed duped individual consumers, and the people believing ALL the hype are as dumb as the drivers I encounter everyday in the far left lane on the highway.

[Jaranath]

I took Metabolife once upon a time (at a family member's enthusiastic insistence.) I reacted badly to it... ...I think (?) it had some stimulants at the time...