Monday, September 27, 2010 The Record
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Federal regulators filed complaints Monday against the makers of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, saying there’s no science to support claims that the products treat or prevent diseases such as prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.
The Federal Trade Commission says POM Wonderful LLC, its parent company Roll International Corp., its creators and an executive violated federal law by making false and deceptive claims about disease prevention and treatment.
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POM Wonderful says on its website that it has spent more than $34 million to support scientific research on POM products since 1998. Study topics include muscle recovery, diabetes, antioxidant potency, heart disease, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.
Regulators said the ads were misleading in saying the research shows the juice or related pomegranate supplements prevent or treat certain diseases.
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The agency also wants to prevent POM and its parents, founders and the executive “from making any other health claim about any food, drug, or dietary supplement without competent and reliable scientific evidence.”
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Regulators filed complaints against the makers of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice and other products on Monday, saying there’s no science to support the company’s claims that its products treat or prevent diseases such as prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.
The goal is prevention rather than punishment, reflecting the purpose of civil law in setting things right rather than that of criminal law. The typical sanction is to order the advertiser to stop its illegal acts, or to include disclosure of additional information that serves to avoid the chance of deception. Corrective advertising may be mandated,[9][10]. But there are no fines or prison time except for the infrequent instances when an advertiser refuses to stop despite being ordered to do so.[11]
Does anyone else think this should change? I think false advertising should be punished, otherwise advertisers can lie as much as they want until they are told to stop, and incur no adverse consequences.
Every advertisement claims their product is “all new, the best, the biggest, the fastest, the most popular, the most desirable”. If we were to enforce all breach of honesty, there would be no advertisement at all. Personally I could live with that, but any savvy shopper knows that most claims are inflated or placed in a “best” light and picks their product for price and quality.
To me all undoctered natural fruit juices (except grapefruit juice) are a good thing, regardless of claims of being the best this or that.
I do agree that, to make an unsubstantiated medical claim about a product is dangerous and should be restricted. When the manufacturer persists, then fines should be levied.
I LOVE grapefruit juice. Unfortunately, if you are taking any medications, you have to assume an interaction, unless it has been cleared by your pharmacist! Fortunately, I am able to drink as much as I want.
I agree, Asanta. I normally have low to average blood pressure. I happened to have a number of foods (French Onion Soup, fish & chips, etc.) at one time and saw I had B.P. significantly higher than I liked so I took a quarter of a dyazide tablet. I had forgotten that I started with a glass of grapefruit juice about an hour before. I went to the Y to exercise and felt a bit flaky. When I got into the shower with the warm water, I realized that I was about to pass out. I quickly cranked the water to pure cold, freezing my tail off, hoping to cause my skin capillaries to tighten up. It worked, and as soon as I got out and dried off. drank about a quart of water. I had always discounted the grapefruit story as a myth, but I found out that it’s medically documented.
I agree, Asanta. I normally have low to average blood pressure. I happened to have a number of foods (French Onion Soup, fish & chips, etc.) at one time and saw I had B.P. significantly higher than I liked so I took a quarter of a dyazide tablet. I had forgotten that I started with a glass of grapefruit juice about an hour before. I went to the Y to exercise and felt a bit flaky. When I got into the shower with the warm water, I realized that I was about to pass out. I quickly cranked the water to pure cold, freezing my tail off, hoping to cause my skin capillaries to tighten up. It worked, and as soon as I got out and dried off. drank about a quart of water. I had always discounted the grapefruit story as a myth, but I found out that it’s medically documented.
Occam
Yes, I used to love grapefruit juice also, but I take Zocor and that reacts with grapefruit juice. Interestingly, grapefruit enhances the effects of some blood medications. I asked if I could reduce the Zocor and drink grapefruit juice as a booster, but apparently the effects are totally unpredictable and thus unsafe .
To me all undoctered natural fruit juices (except grapefruit juice) are a good thing, regardless of claims of being the best this or that.
Wow, tell me more.
In high school I was on the wrestling team and spent most of three seasons on the Grapefruit Diet - supposedly burns off carbs… or was it calories? It’s when I learned to love grapefruit sans sugar.
Yes, I used to love grapefruit juice also, but I take Zocor and that reacts with grapefruit juice. Interestingly, grapefruit enhances the effects of some blood medications. I asked if I could reduce the Zocor and drink grapefruit juice as a booster, but apparently the effects are totally unpredictable and thus unsafe .
Yes, it potentiates (I think I spelled that wrong) many, many drugs. For some reason, you don’t clear the drug as quickly. I can’t remember the mechanism any more. The only drug I ever took that interacted with grapefruit juice was ranitidine…and I told the doctor I would stop the ranitidine. Fortunately, the ranitidine was for a severe allergy, and since I left that environment, it was no longer needed. Occam, Grapefruit juice and BP meds can be particularly nasty, I think that is the reaction that cued them in on the problem.
The goal is prevention rather than punishment, reflecting the purpose of civil law in setting things right rather than that of criminal law. The typical sanction is to order the advertiser to stop its illegal acts, or to include disclosure of additional information that serves to avoid the chance of deception. Corrective advertising may be mandated,[9][10]. But there are no fines or prison time except for the infrequent instances when an advertiser refuses to stop despite being ordered to do so.[11]
Does anyone else think this should change? I think false advertising should be punished, otherwise advertisers can lie as much as they want until they are told to stop, and incur no adverse consequences.
Yep, agreed completely. I should add that it has been blindingly obvious for years that POM’s ad campaign was deceptive.
But the airwaves are choked with deceptive ads pushing quackery in one form or another.
