Bogus Diet Pill Claims Lead To FTC Fines

Four makers of over-the-counter weight-loss products have been fined by the FTC for false advertising. The fines totaled $25 million, with Bayer, the maker of One-A-Day Weight Smart, receiving the largest civil penalty ever given out by the agency, at $3.2 million. None of the four products involved, TrimSpa, One-A-Day Weight Smart, Cortislim and Xenadrine, were removed from store shelves, and according to Deborah Platt Majoras, the FTC chairperson, the products do not pose a health threat. Prior to the recent civil penalty, Bayer had been ordered by the FTC to stop making bogus claims about its Weight Smart product, which was a standard multivitamin compound with the addition of green tea extract. Majoras says that Americans “believe what they read or see on television” and that is why they spend so much money on diet pills. However, people should be skeptical about testimonials and endorsements of diet products.