[extropy-chat] Professor Being Sued Over Anti-Aging Comments

[BillK]

On 6/20/05, Olga Bourlin wrote:
>     
> However, it seems more and more scientific medicine is going to bed with
> "alternative medicine" these days.  And money seems to be at the root of
> this phenomenon.  So, where do we begin? 
>   

See:
<http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/06/greatamerican.htm>

For Release: June 9, 2005 CORRECTED

FTC Targets Bogus Anti-Aging Claims for Pills and Sprays Promising
Human Growth Hormone Benefits

Settlement Provides Up To $20 Million In Consumer Redress

Two Florida businesses have agreed to a federal court order requiring
them to pay up to $20 million in consumer redress – the largest
monetary judgment ever obtained in an FTC health fraud case – to
settle charges that they deceptively claimed that their pills and
sprays would increase consumers' human growth hormone (HGH) levels and
provide anti-aging benefits, including weight loss and increased
cognitive function. In addition, the Commission has issued warning
letters to more than 90 Internet marketers making similar claims.

"Early explorers searched without success for a fountain of youth, and
modern marketers promise that it can be found in pills and sprays,"
said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer
Protection. "Those promises are illusory. Unfortunately, no pill or
spray can turn back the hands of time."

The complaint alleges that ads for the dietary supplements Ultimate
HGH and Super HGH Booster and the sublingual sprays Master HGH and
Super HGH promise that these products will significantly increase
growth hormone levels; provide the benefits purportedly shown in
various studies involving prescription-only HGH injections; and
provide physical benefits including reduced fat, cholesterol, and
blood pressure, increased muscle mass, and improved cognitive, immune,
and sexual function.
According to the FTC, these claims are false or unsubstantiated.

BillK