Diet Pill Marketers Ordered to Pay Multi-Million Dollar Fines for Fraudulent Claims
Fraudulent diet pill marketers push your emotional hot buttons to sell you hype, hope and a continual supply of ineffective money and health wasters.
The ads and infomercials are everywhere. On TV, the internet, your radio, magazines and newspapers. Fraudulent fat loss and diet pill marketers bombard you with outrageous claims and promises that are backed by so called university studies and clinical testing. These companies can usually get away with this behavior for several reasons. Loopholes and grey area in the rules they are supposed to abide by, the Federal Trade Commission being grossly outnumbered by the volume of these companies and the gullible nature of the general public who continue to purchase these bottled promises and hopes.
Recently, the FTC took action against the marketers of one of the biggest selling ‘diet pill’ supplement on the market. The story follows: CortiSlim/CortiStress marketers hit for $4.5 million penalty. California-based Pinnacle Marketing Concepts, Inc. and its president, Thomas F. Cheng, and Utah-based Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., have agreed to disgorge a total of $4.5 million in cash and other assets to settle FTC charges stemming from their roles in the marketing of CortiSlim and CortiStress, In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the defendants made false or unsubstantiated product claims and used deceptively formatted infomercials in pitching the dietary supplements. Litigation continues against three other defendants who were part of the scheme. The FTC's complaint, filed last years, charged that CortiSlim was marketed with false or unsubstantiated claims that it would cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss in all users and that CortiStress would reduce the risk of, or prevent, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The settlement
agreement also prohibits the defendants from making unsubstantiated claims in the future about any dietary supplement, food, drug, cosmetic, or device.
Three Cortislim defendants to give up $4.5 million in cash and other assets: FTC's litigation continues against four remaining defendants. FTC news release, Sept 21, 2005]A more detailed version can be read on the FTC website at ftc.comRulings similar to this one happen quite commonly. They just don’t make front page news and so the general public doesn’t get to learn about the fraudulent nature of these companies and therefore continues to purchase the money wasting products marketed by these companies. Think about it. With all of the ‘too good to be true’ products being sold today, the majority of the general public would be in fantastic physical condition instead of way out of shape and unhealthy.
Sooner or later we have to take responsibility for ourselves and stop looking for the magic fat pill or the breakthrough diet supplement. Nothing will ever replace smart nutrition and consistent exercise for getting you into the best shape that you are capable of. Even if a new legitimate diet drug becomes available to the public, just remember all of the diet drugs of the past that were eventually proven to result in severe adverse health effects and sometimes death.
Your magic pill is within you. You can give yourself the results you are looking for. Just seek out the information that pertains to you and begin taking action.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joey Atlas, MS - Exercise Physiology, is the creator of The Butt, Hip and Thigh Makeover at http://www.ButtHipAndThighMakeover.comJoey is also co-owner of The GAC Personal Training Studio at http://www.GACtraining.com
|