Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14005

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Watson R.
New law bans selling of products with unjustified health claims
BMJ 2008 May 24; 336:(7654):1150
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7654/1150-a?etoc

Abstract:

Consumers in the United Kingdom are to receive stronger legal safeguards against products that claim, without any identifiable scientific evidence, to provide physical and mental health benefits such as tackling obesity or depression.

The protection will be provided by the consumer protection regulations that come into force on 26 May, which implement new pan-European rules on unfair commercial practices.

The scope of the legislation is deliberately wide and is the biggest shake up in consumer law for decades. It targets any unfair selling to consumers by any business. It is designed to be a safety net to catch dubious commercial practices that are not already covered by specific laws. It will cover any items-such as pills, drinks, or creams-that claim to have beneficial health effects, like losing weight, which do not fall under existing national and European medicines legislation.

“If a trader cannot prove scientifically that the product works, this . . .