| U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
FTC News Release, Jan 29, 2007
FTC Files Civil Contempt Action Against Lane Labs Defendants
The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has
filed civil contempt charges against Lane Labs, Inc., its
president Andrew Lane, and William Lane for violating FTC
orders entered in 2000 requiring them to have competent and
reliable scientific evidence to substantiate ad claims and
prohibiting deceptive claims about tests, studies, or
research. The FTC alleged that Lane Labs and Andrew Lane
violated the order against them by claiming that Fertil Male,
a dietary supplement, enhances male fertility. The FTC also
alleged that Lane Labs, Andrew Lane, and William Lane violated
the FTC orders by claiming that AdvaCAL, a calcium supplement
also sold as AAACa, is superior to other calcium products and
on par with or superior to prescription drugs used to fight
osteoporosis.
The defendants entered into the orders in 2000 to settle
FTC charges that they made unsubstantiated claims about the
efficacy of two products – BeneFin and SkinAnswer – in the
prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer. According to the
FTC, the defendants’ claims that Fertil Male improves male
fertility are based on flawed scientific studies. The
Commission also charged that the defendants have made numerous
unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of AdvaCAL, and
misrepresented test results and studies involving AdvaCAL and
other calcium products. The FTC charged that the studies do
not support the claims, and that the studies of AdvaCAL are
“fatally flawed.”
The FTC charged that the defendants do not have competent
and reliable scientific evidence to back up their claims and
have misrepresented the results of scientific research when
claiming:
- Fertil Male improves male fertility;
- AdvaCAL is more absorbable than other types of
calcium;
- AdvaCAL is superior to other calcium or prescription
drug products at building bone or increasing bone mineral
density; and
- AdvaCAL is superior to other calcium products in
preventing or reducing the risk of fractures.
The products are sold on the Internet, in catalogs, by
direct mail, on infomercials, and at retail. A one-month
supply of Fertil Male costs $34.95 at retail. A 25-day supply
of AdvaCAL costs $39.95 at retail.
The FTC is seeking to recover all revenues stemming from
the defendants’ order violations.
The Commission’s application for an order to show cause why
defendants should not be held in contempt was filed in the
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on January
12, 2007.
The text in this article was prepared by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.