U.S. Food and Drug Administration

 FDA Press Release,  October 19, 2006

FTC and FDA Act Against Internet Vendors of Fraudulent Diabetes Cures and Treatments

Measures are Part of Coordinated Effort by United States, Mexico, and Canada

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working with government agencies in Mexico and Canada, have launched a drive to stop deceptive Internet advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes. The ongoing joint campaign has so far included approximately 180 warning letters and other advisories sent to online outlets in the three countries.

“We will continue working with our partners in the U.S. and internationally to make sure scammers have no place to hide,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Internet can be a great source of information, but it also is a billboard for ads that promise miracle cures for diabetes and other serious diseases. Our advice to consumers: ‘Be smart, be skeptical’ when evaluating health claims online.”

“We will not tolerate practices that raise false hopes and bilk consumers of precious health care dollars, ” said Margaret O’K. Glavin, FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. “Diabetes requires effective treatments and aggressive management, not bogus and unproven products.”

The joint diabetes initiative to stop commercial sale of fraudulent therapies originated with a Web surf for “hidden traps” by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), an organization of law enforcement authorities, members of the Mexico, United States, and Canada Health Fraud Working Group (MUCH), and the attorneys general offices of Alaska, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. MUCH, which consists of regulatory officials from health, consumer and competition protection agencies in the three North American countries, had previously conducted a campaign against fraudulent weight-loss products.

Using the results of the Internet sweep, FTC sent warning letters for deceptive ads to 84 domestic and 7 Canadian Web sites targeting U.S. consumers, and referred an additional 21 sites to other foreign governments. About a quarter of the firms have already changed their claims or removed their pages from the Internet, and several others are in contact with FTC.

Today, FDA announced it has issued warning letters to 24 firms marketing dietary supplement products with claims to treat, cure, prevent or mitigate diabetes (see list at bottom of page). The FDA letters warn firms that failure to promptly correct the violations may result in enforcement action without further notice, which may include seizure of violative products and/or injunctions against the manufacturers and distributors.

FDA has developed a strategy to focus its enforcement efforts in the area of dietary supplements, and today’s announcement is one important action under that strategy. The strategy was designed to address illegal dietary supplement ingredients and ensure integrity and truthful labeling of dietary supplements. One emphasis is on claims aimed at patients with serious diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Within the last twelve months, the agency has sent more than 100 warning letters and other advisories to Internet firms and has seized products at one firm.

List of Firms Receiving Warning Letters for Marketing Unproven Dietary Supplements for Diabetes with Illegal Drug Claims

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Firm Name / Location	Products
Annie Rose, Inc. Grand Junction, CO	Food Matrix™ Diabetes Pack™
Brenda Albano Grafton, NH	Sportron's Diabetes FoodMatrix™ Pack; CarboTone
Brookelyn Ziegler Newport Beach, CA	Allbaid
David Goldberg Omaha, NE	Beta Fast GXR Glucose Balance; Beta Fast GXR Glucose Tolerance
Enhansulin.com Corporation Reno, NV	Enhansulin®
European Solutions Pompano, FL	Diamel®
FulLife Natural Options, Inc. Boca Raton, FL	Charantea
Geromatrix, Pulsecast Ineractive Corp Boca Raton, FL	"Glucose Balance;" "Glucose Support"
H & L World Wide Inc. South El Monte, CA	PureGels GlucoTrim 24; Diamaxol Blood Sugar Support; Jiang Tang Pian (Diabetes Care)
Hale Wai Ola, LLC Lahaina, HI	Wai Ola
Healing Edge Science Huntington Beach, CA	Pancreas Tonic 180; Grifon Maitake SX; Diabetan
Health Sites, Inc. Panama City, FL	Glucobetic; Neuro-Betic
Healthy-Living.org Orem, UT	RiSoTriene
HEE Corporation Hutchinson, KS	HPB-84
HerbsForLiving.com Santa Monica, CA	Trilovin DNS; Trilovin DSAO
MicroNutraHealth™ Las Vegas, NV	Diamaxol™
Native Remedies, LLC Boca Raton, FL	Triple Complex Diabetonic; Insulate Plus; Vizu-All Plus
NATR, Inc. Eureka, CA	FoodMatrix diabetic pack (UltraGard Forte; Omegatone; Calcitone; Carbotone)
Nutricell, Inc. Kankakkee, IL	Vitamin Research Products Biotin 10mg; Vitamin Research Products Optimum D; and Vitamin Research Products GluControl
Progressive Health Nutraceuticals, Inc. Toledo, OH	Glucose M1; Glucose M2
Sportron International, Inc. McKinney, TX	Carbotone; Diabetes FoodMatrix™ Pack (the "Blood Sugar Pack")
Sportron Training Center Chino, CA	"Carbotone"
Sweet Sunnah Black Seed Liberty, New NY	NyGymnema Herbal Blood Sugar Balance
Wellness Support Network Glendale, CA	WSN® Diabetic Pack

This advisory was prepared by the FDA Office of Public Affairs.