| U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
FTC News Release, May 11, 2006
Major Weight-Loss Marketers Pay $3 Million
FTC Charged They Could Not Back Up Claims for Six Weight-Loss Products for Adults and Kids
Sellers making questionable weight-loss and fat-loss claims
to peddle skin gels and diet supplements will pay $3 million
to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their
deceptive claims violated federal law. The settlement bars
unsubstantiated claims in the future and bars the marketers
from misrepresenting studies or endorsements.
According to the FTC’s Complaint, the ads for three skin
gels – Tummy Flattening Gel, Cutting Gel, and Dermalin APg –
claimed they melted away fat wherever applied, including a
user’s thighs, tummy, even a double chin. Ads for Leptoprin
and Anorex, two ephedrine pills, claimed they caused weight
loss of more than 20 pounds. The advertising for PediaLean
fiber pills for overweight children claimed the pills caused
substantial weight loss. The FTC alleged the marketers lacked
a reasonable basis to back up these claims. In addition, the
FTC alleged the ads falsely claimed that clinical testing
proved those claims for four of the challenged products and
misrepresented their spokesperson as a medical doctor.
Ads for the products ran on television, in magazines, and
in tabloids. The products were also marketed on the Internet.
Leptoprin was heavily advertised through short-form television
infomercials. Ads for the skin gels ran in Cosmopolitan,
Muscle and Fitness, and other magazines. PediaLean was
advertised in tabloids and magazines such as The Enquirer and
Redbook.
Under the FTC’s final order, the primary company, Basic
Research, will pay $3 million on behalf of all six companies
and three individuals charged in this case: Basic Research,
LLC, A.G. Waterhouse, LLC, Klein Becker USA, LLC, NutraSport,
LLC, Sovage Dermalogic Laboratories, LLC, BAN LLC, Dennis Gay,
Daniel B. Mowrey (also doing business as American Phytotherapy
Research Laboratory) and Mitchell K. Friedlander.
The FTC’s final order prohibits the marketers from making
unsubstantiated claims that Dermalin-APg, Cutting Gel, Tummy
Flattening Gel, Anorex, Leptoprin, PediaLean, or any
substantially similar product causes weight loss or fat loss
and misrepresenting the effects of a product through the use
of product names or endorsements. When they make weight-loss
or fat-loss claims for any products, they must rely on
competent and reliable scientific evidence. The marketers must
also have substantiation to support representations that any
food, drug, or dietary supplement has an effect on any
disease, on the structure or function of the human body, or
other health or weight-loss benefits. They cannot misrepresent
any test, study, or research, or the profession, expertise,
training, education, experience, or qualifications of any
endorser.
The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement,
subject to public comment, was 5-0. The FTC will publish an
announcement regarding the agreement in the Federal Register.
The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days,
beginning today and ending Monday, June 12, 2006. Comments
should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, Room
H-135, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
The FTC requests that any comment filed in paper form be sent
by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S.
postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is
subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.
NOTE: A consent agreement is for
settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission
of a law violation. When the Commission issues a consent order
on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to
future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in
a civil penalty of $11,000.
The text in this article was prepared by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.