Healthy Skepticism Library item: 9000
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
Meadows M.
Cracking down on health fraud.
FDA Consum 2006 Nov-Dec; 40:(6):16-23
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/606_fraud.html
Keywords:
MeSH Terms:
Advertising/statistics & numerical data*
Diabetes Mellitus/therapy
Fraud/prevention & control
Fraud/statistics & numerical data*
Hispanic Americans*
Humans
Influenza, Human/therapy
Internet
Mass Media/statistics & numerical data*
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/drug therapy
United States
United States Food and Drug Administration
Weight Loss
Notes:
“On April 19, 2006, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) led a massive “Hispanic Multimedia Surf” to identify potentially fraudulent advertising aimed at Spanish-speaking consumers. More than 160 participants from government agencies and Hispanic consumer and student groups “surfed” the Internet, Spanish radio and television broadcasts, and print media for deceptive advertising in the areas of credit, work opportunities, and health.
“The FDA’s role in the surf was to focus on unapproved products with claims to cure, treat, or prevent serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease,” says Gary Coody, national health fraud coordinator in the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Enforcement. More than 30 Spanish-speaking employees from the FDA’s headquarters in Rockville, Md., and 14 FDA district offices nationwide and in Puerto Rico participated.
The FTC released results of the project in September 2006, reinforcing the need for consumers to recognize the signs of health fraud and to communicate with their doctors before using new medical products. Whether an ad runs in English or Spanish, the characteristics of health fraud are the same, according to Coody. A product is promoted as offering some type of health benefit, but the claims have not been scientifically proven. The product may be ineffective or even harmful…”
