Saturday Quack-Quack – I Told You So!

I’m delighted to read that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finally punished some manufacturers making false claims about weight-loss products. I first quacked about CortiSlim in April 2006. The FDA had written the manufacturers in August 2004, directing them to re-word their advertisements. But it was only this week that FDA disclosed that they had fined Window Rock (the manufacturers) $12 million. That’s probably only a fraction of the profit that Widow Rock Enterprises has made from gullible overweight clients, but it’s a start. Other similar products collecting fines are: One-a-Day Weight Smart (Bayer) Xenadrine EFX (Cytodyne LLC), and TrimSpa (Nutramerica Corp).

Here are FTC’s seven red flags – when they (or you) see one of these, be very suspicious:

“causes weight loss of 2 pounds a week for 4 weeks or more without dieting”

“causes substantial weight loss regardless of calories consumed”

“causes permanent weight loss even after stopping its use”

“blocks absorption of fat or calories”

“enable the loss of more than 3 pounds a week for more than 4 weeks”

“causes substantial weight loss for all users”

“works by wearing it or rubbing it on the skin”

You have been warned; remember the FDA and the FTC move very slowly, so try to be ahead of the curve. Watch out for these impossible claims, or others like them.