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FTC
Releases Guidance to Media on False Weight-Loss
Claims
Staff Report on
Weight-Loss Advertising Workshop Made Available
The staff of the Federal Trade
Commission today announced its “Red Flag” education
campaign to assist media outlets voluntarily to
screen out weight-loss product ads containing claims
that are too good to be true. The announcement is
the culmination of a workshop held on November 19,
2002, and meetings with trade associations and
individual media outlets over the last year. To
support the voluntary initiative, the FTC released a
media reference guide entitled “Red Flag: Bogus
Weight Loss Claims.”
“Unfortunately, there are way
too many ads for scientifically impossible
weight-loss products in the popular media,” said FTC
Chairman Timothy J. Muris. “The media should
institute screening programs to ‘red flag’ deceitful
weight-loss ads and refuse to run them. To help
media advertising staff identify bogus claims, we’re
providing thousands of free copies of the ‘Red Flag’
booklet.”
The media reference guide builds upon the FTC’s
staff report, “Deception in Weight-Loss Advertising
Workshop: Seizing Opportunities and Building
Partnerships to Stop Weight-Loss Fraud,” also
released today. The staff report provides an
overview and analysis of the workshop discussion and
relevant public comments.
Background – 2002 Weight
Loss Product Advertising Workshop
In September 2002, the FTC staff
issued a report on weight-loss advertising that
concluded that, despite vigorous FTC law enforcement
and consumer education efforts, fraudulent and
misleading weight-loss advertising was widespread
and on the rise. Following up on that report, in an
effort to identify alternative approaches to curbing
weight-loss fraud, the FTC held a public workshop on
deception in weight-loss product advertising on
November 19, 2002. The goal of the workshop was to
explore new approaches to stop false weight-loss
advertising. Participants in the workshop included,
among others, scientists with expertise in the study
and treatment of overweight individuals and obesity,
weight-loss industry members, and media
representatives. The workshop consisted of three
panels. The first panel considered whether certain
weight-loss claims, such as claims that promote
substantial weight loss without reducing caloric
intake or increasing exercise, are feasible. The
second panel considered ways to improve industry
self-regulation of weight-loss advertising. The
final panel focused on the feasibility and
challenges of ad screening.
The Report
The FTC staff report issued
today summarizes the proceedings of the November
2002 weight-loss advertising workshop and the pre-
and post-workshop public comments, provides an
analysis of the scientific feasibility of the eight
weight-loss claims considered during the workshop,
and offers recommendations for future action.
The staff report concludes that
the claims are not scientifically feasible at the
current time for nonprescription drugs, dietary
supplements, creams, wraps, devices, and patches,
and that further guidance would assist the media in
screening out these bogus claims. As a result, to
assist in media screening, the FTC produced the
reference guide released today. The reference guide
is designed so that media outlets can screen out
weight-loss ads through simple facial review, rather
than in-depth investigation.
Media Guidance
The centerpiece of the FTC
campaign is educational guidance to the media that
identifies seven common weight-loss claims made for
products available over-the-counter, including
nonprescription drugs, dietary supplements, creams,
wraps, devices, and patches that are scientifically
infeasible at the current time. These claims
include:
- Causes weight loss of two
pounds or more a week for a month, or more
without dieting or exercise.
- Causes substantial weight
loss, no matter what or how much the consumer
eats.
- Causes permanent weight
loss (even when the consumer stops using the
product).
- Blocks the absorption of
fat or calories to enable consumers to lose
substantial weight.
- Safely enables consumers to
lose more than three pounds per week for more
than four weeks.
- Causes substantial weight
loss for all users.
- Causes substantial weight
loss by wearing it on the body or rubbing it
into the skin.
“We know that no publication or
station wants to print or air false weight-loss
claims,” Chairman Muris said. “This booklet provides
specific examples of bogus claims, along with
explanations that will allow media advertising
personnel to avoid bogus weight loss claims and stop
them before they injure consumers. We encourage the
media to use it.”
The Commission vote to
release the staff report was 5-0.
Copies of the FTC staff
weight-loss report are available from the FTC’s Web
site at
http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s
Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works
for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive,
and unfair business practices in the marketplace and
to provide information to help consumers spot, stop,
and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free
information on any of 150 consumer topics, call
toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1 877-382-4357), or use
the complaint form at
http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet,
telemarketing, identity theft, and other
fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a
secure, online database available to hundreds of
civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the
U.S. and abroad.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Brenda Mack
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2182
STAFF CONTACT:
Richard Cleland
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3088
(FTC Matter No. P034509)
(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/weightlossrpt.htm)
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