HerbalEGram: Volume 4

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in January that it had reached settlements with 4 different weight-loss supplement marketers, in cases that alleged deceptive marketing. Marketers of Xenadrine EFX® (Cytodyne LLC), CortiSlim® (Window Rock Enterprises, Inc), TrimSpa® (Nutramerica Corp), and One-A-Day Weight Smart® (Bayer HealthCare LLC) surrendered cash and assets totaling $25 million for the settlements, which do not declare guilt but include provisions limiting future advertising claims.^1,2
 
Two marketers of Xenadine EFX, which contains green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract, caffeine, and bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) extract among other ingredients, will pay between $8 million and $12.8 million to settle FTC allegations that the product’s claims were false and unsubstantiated.¹ According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants claimed that Xenadrine EFX was clinically proven to cause rapid and substantial weight loss and clinically proven to be more effective than leading ephedrine-based diet products, even though none of the marketers’ commissioned studies resulted in substantial weight loss for subjects using the product. In one study, subjects taking Xenadine EFX lost an average of 1.5 pounds over 10 weeks, while the group taking placebo lost an average of 2.5 pounds. The complaint also alleged that advertisements falsely indicated that persons shown in the product’s ads achieved their weight loss solely by using Xenadrine EFX, even though these consumer endorsers also engaged in rigorous diet and/or exercise programs. Moreover, these endorsers were paid $1,000 to $20,000 for their testimonials, which was not disclosed in the advertisements. The marketers Robert Chinery, Jr. and RTC Research and Development have been prohibited from making health claims about Xenadrine EFX unless such claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence, and they must disclose any relationships or experiences of endorsers that would materially affect weight or credibility. In addition to the FTC case penalties, the defendants recently settled civil cases in the amount of $22.75 million.²
 
Seven marketers of CortiSlim and CortiStress will surrender, in total, at least $12 million in assets.¹ According to the FTC the funds recovered from the 7 defendants will be used for consumer redress. The FTC alleged that advertising claims about CortiSlim’s ability to cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss in all users were false or unsubstantiated, as were claims about the product’s ability to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. All of the settlements prohibit the marketers from making health claims about their products’ performance, effects on weight, or other health benefits unless the claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence, and they prohibit deceptive formatting of television and radio ads. CortiSlim and CortiStress contain vitamin C, calcium, and various other ingredients and proprietary blends. The proprietary blends within CortiSlim include green tea extract and bitter orange extract, among other ingredients, and the proprietary blend within CortiStress contains magnolia (Magnolia officinalis) bark extract, among other ingredients.
 
Marketers of TrimSpa will pay $1.5 million to settle FTC claims. FTC alleged that marketers Goen Technologies Corp, Nutramerica Corp., TrimSpa Inc., and Alexander Szynalski (also known as Alexander Goen) had inadequate scientific evidence to support advertising claims that TrimSpa causes rapid and substantial weight loss and that its ingredient, hoodia (Hoodia gordonii) enables users to lose weight by suppressing appetite. As with the other settlements, TrimSpa marketers are prohibited from making any health claims unless such claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
 
The Bayer Corporation will reportedly pay a $3.2 million civil penalty to settle FTC allegations that advertisements for One-A-Day WeightSmart violated an earlier Commission order requiring that all health claims for the brand be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. The complaint alleged that Bayer Corporation marketed One-A-Day WeightSmart with unsubstantiated claims that the product increases or enhances metabolism and that it helps control or prevent weight gain through its effects on metabolism. The FTC argued that such claims violated a 1991 Commission order against Bayer’s predecessor Miles Inc., which required all claims about the benefits of One-A-Day brand products be substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence. One-A-Day WeightSmart contains various vitamins and minerals, in addition to green tea extract.
 
Information used by the FTC in some of the cases was partially supplied by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau (BBB).² In September 2006 NAD launched a joint initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a major trade association dealing with dietary supplements, for the increased monitoring of advertising claims for dietary supplements. That initiative was covered in the November issue of HerbalEGram and is accessible here.³

-Courtney Cavaliere

References

1. Federal Trade Commission reaches “new year’s” resolutions with four major weight-control pill marketers [press release]. Washington DC: Federal Trade Commission; January 4, 2007. Available at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/01/weightloss.htm. Accessed January 11, 2007.
2. Myers S. Major weight-loss makers settle FTC cases. Natural Products Insider. January 4, 2007. Available at: http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/71h41427955023.html. Accessed January 11, 2007.
3. Cavaliere C. New CRN and NAD initiative to increase monitoring of dietary supplement advertising. HerbalEGram. November 2006;3(11). Available at: http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp?c=CRNNAD. Accessed January 12, 2007.