| U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
FTC News Release, Jun 16, 2004
Ads for Various Diet Supplements and Topical Gels Don’t Cut the Fat,
Says the FTC
Companies Do Not Have Adequate Substantiation to Support the Claims
The Federal Trade Commission has charged a
Utah-based company, five related corporations, and three
individuals operating as a common enterprise with making
numerous false and unsubstantiated claims for weight-loss and
fat-loss gels and supplements. The complaint focuses on six of
the respondents’ heavily promoted products: Dermalin, Cutting
Gel, and Tummy Flattening Gel (topical fat-loss gels with the
same active ingredient); Leptoprin and Anorex (identical
weight-loss supplements for “significantly overweight” people
which contained ECA [ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin], an
additional patented ingredient and calcium); and PediaLean (a
glucomannan weight-loss supplement for children). In an
administrative complaint announced today, the FTC alleges that
the respondents violated the FTC Act by making unsubstantiated
fat and weight loss claims, false claims that clinical testing
proves certain efficacy claims, and false claims that Daniel
B. Mowrey, Ph.D, is a medical doctor.
“Dramatic, unsubstantiated weight and fat
loss claims continue to tempt the overweight with new hope for
a quick fix. It’s particularly disturbing, however, when
marketers peddle such pills and potions for children without
adequate substantiation,” according to Howard Beales, Director
of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Commission’s administrative complaint
names: Basic Research, L.L.C.; A.G. Waterhouse, L.L.C.;
Klein-Becker usa, L.L.C.; Nutrasport, L.L.C.; Sovage
Dermalogic Laboratories, L.L.C.; BAN, L.L.C.; Dennis Gay;
Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., also doing business as American
Phytotheraphy Research Laboratory; and Mitchell K.
Friedlander, all operating from the same Salt Lake City
facility. The corporate respondents operate as a common
enterprise to sell a broad line of dietary supplements and
topical products.
According to the FTC’s complaint, the
respondents market numerous dietary supplements and topical
gels through a variety of media, including the Internet. In
particular, Leptoprin has been heavily advertised through
short-form infomercials; the topical gels have been promoted
through newspapers and national magazines, such as
Cosmopolitan, and Muscle and Fitness; and PediaLean has been
advertised in magazines such as Redbook.
Dermalin, Cutting Gel, and Tummy Flattening
Gel all contain the active ingredient aminophylline in a
lecithin base. Dermalin and Tummy Flattening Gel are sold
under the Klein-Becker usa and Sovage trade names, and are
advertised primarily to women interested in thinning their
figures. Cutting Gel, sold under the Nutrasport trade name, is
primarily advertised to male bodybuilders who want to
eliminate areas of fat that obscure their muscle
definition.
The FTC’s complaint challenges as
unsubstantiated claims that Dermalin, Cutting Gel, and Tummy
Flattening Gel cause rapid and visibly obvious fat loss in
areas of the body to which they are applied. The complaint
challenges as false the claim that published, clinical testing
proves that Cutting Gel and Tummy Flattening Gel cause rapid
and visibly obvious fat loss in areas of the body to which
they are applied.
The complaint further challenges as
unsubstantiated claims that Leptoprin and Anorex cause weight
loss of more than 20 pounds in significantly overweight users
and that those products cause loss of substantial, excess fat
in significantly overweight users. In addition, the complaint
challenges as false claims that clinical testing proves that
Leptoprin causes weight loss of more than 20 pounds, including
as much as 50, 60, or 147 pounds, in significantly overweight
users; and that clinical testing proves that Leptoprin causes
loss of substantial, excess fat in significantly overweight
users.
In addition, the complaint challenges claims
that PediaLean causes substantial weight loss in overweight or
obese children, and that clinical testing proves such claims.
The complaint further challenges the respondents’ claim that
respondent Mowrey is a medical doctor. The FTC alleges that he
is not.
The notice order issued with the complaint
prohibits the respondents from making unsubstantiated claims
about the health or weight-loss benefits, performance, safety,
or efficacy of any service, program, dietary supplement, food,
drug, or device. The notice order also prohibits the
respondents from making misrepresentations about tests or the
profession, expertise, training, education, experience or
qualifications of Mowrey or any other endorser.
The Commission vote to file the
administrative complaint was 4-0, with Chairman Timothy J.
Muris not participating.
The text in this article was prepared by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.