| U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
FTC News Release, Aug 20, 2007
Weight-Loss Patch Manufacturer Banned From Selling Weight-Loss Patches, Will
Pay $180,000
FTC: Products Worn or Rubbed on the Skin Do Not Cause Weight Loss
A company and its owner are banned from selling weight-loss patches in the
future and will pay $180,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that
advertising claims for their weight-loss patches were false and unsubstantiated.
According to the FTC, Transdermal Products International Marketing
Corporation and William H. Newbauer sold a supposed weight-loss patch to about
two dozen domestic and foreign retailers, and provided them with sample
deceptive advertising and bogus substantiation materials, including purported
expert endorsements and clinical studies of their weight-loss patch by Marvin
Kaplan. The retailers in turn used these materials to sell the weight-loss
patches to consumers in the U.S. and abroad. The sample advertising made false
or unsubstantiated claims about the product, including that it caused weight
loss and that the main ingredient, sea kelp, had been approved by the FDA for
weight loss.
The order entered against the defendants requires that they pay $180,000 in
three $60,000 payments over 18 months. If they fail to make their payments on
time – or if they materially misled the Commission as to the extent of their
ability to pay – the order calls for a judgment against them of $900,000.
In addition to banning them from selling weight-loss patches, the order also
bars the defendants from making claims that have been identified by the FTC as
raising “red flags” for false weight-loss advertising, including that a product
worn or rubbed on the skin is effective for weight loss; that it causes
substantial weight-loss without reducing calories or increasing exercise; that
it safely enables users to lose more than three pounds per week for a period of
more than four weeks; or that it causes permanent weight loss. In addition, the
defendants cannot misrepresent that the FDA has approved or is about to approve
any transdermal product, dietary supplement, food, drug, device or cosmetic for
its intended use. Also, they cannot claim that any of these types of products
cause weight loss or melt or burn body fat or affect the body’s metabolism of
fat unless they have competent and reliable scientific evidence to back up the
claim. Finally, the order prohibits the defendants from providing their trade
customers with the means and instrumentalities to make false and deceptive
claims.
The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the stipulated final order was
5-0. Senior District Court Judge Thomas N. O’Neill, Jr., signed the order, which
was entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
on July 24, 2007.
NOTE: This stipulated final order is for settlement purposes only and does
not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation.
The text in this article was prepared by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.