Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17232

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: news

Call for Hydroxycut to be cut
Pharmacy Daily 2010 Feb 4
http://www.pharmacydaily.com.au

Full text:

A FORMAL complaint has been submitted to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Committee about Hydroxycut (PD this week) calling for corrective advertising and a recall by the TGA.

The products have already been withdrawn in the USA, Canada, UK and Ireland, and in the light of the recent case report of hepatoxicity associated with the Australian range of the product, Ken Harvey from Latrobe University is calling for their withdrawal in Australia. “I believe that the continued promotion and marketing of these products in Australia constitutes a potentially life-threatening of serious risk to health,” he said.

“A risk-benefit analysis would conclude that these products have little or no benefit,” he added.

However an email sent from the TGA yesterday to Harvey notes that “one suspected adverse event does not necessarily mean that a health care risk exists”.

When Hydroxycut was withdrawn in the UK, the Food Standards Agency said it had taken a precautionary approach, “as the specific problematic ingredient has not been highlighted and the UK formula shares common ingredients to the US version.