FTC Commissioner Calls on Industry, Media to Weed Out False Claims
04/18/2002
WASHINGTON--A commissioner from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called on the dietary supplement industry to regulate itself better and asked the media to refuse to run supplement ads that are obviously unsubstantiated. Sheila Anthony, one of the five commissioners at FTC, suggested these actions in front of the Food and Drug Law Institute's 45th Annual Educational Conference (www.fdli.org) here in mid-April.
She stated that since the passage of DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994), there has been a dramatic increase in the marketing of dietary supplements and, as a result, FTC has seen a rise in questionable claims. "Two factors have had a significant influence over this growth," Anthony said. "The Internet has made it easier for snake oil salesmen to sell their product because it allows marketers, both large and small, to go global.
"In addition, many dietary supplement marketers believe that DSHEA provides a green light to make implied health and disease claims and avoid FDA review or approval." She added that FTC has brought more than 60 law enforcement actions against companies using false or unsubstantiated claims, with many more in the pipeline.
In terms having the media be more responsible about advertisements, Anthony reported that although publications screen ads for taste and appropriateness, they do not seem as keen to weed out "obvious fraud." For example, in 1999 FTC took issue with Margate, Fla.-based Slim America that had claims that it could "blast" off up to 49 pounds in 29 days and which was run in full-page ads in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and McCall's.
Anthony also added that these views were hers and did not reflect the views of the Commission (www.ftc.gov).
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