PSA #1 Things that can kill you or rob you

[rthstewart]

I used to do this and the Skechers thing is one that bugged me the first time I saw the ads. So,

If you bought Skechers Shape Up and toning shoes, you may be entitled to a refund since the data that supported the claims wasn't adequate, supported, or reliable. 

FDA issues a warning about an unproven treatment for MS that could kill you.

The Advisory Committee on Antiviral Drugs recommended with certain caveats that the FDA approve the drug Truvada for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection.  The vote to approve recommended it for all populations, including men who have sex with men and women -- empowering a woman to prevent HIV-1 infection herself being especially important if she is in a situation where she cannot insist her partner use a condom.

Weight loss products based upon the idea that they (but actually may not) contain HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) don't work.  (This is another one that really infuriates me).

And, last but not least, Senator Leahy is demanding that FDA finalize 30 year old proposed regulations regarding sunscreens (Because FDA has been trying to update the sunscreen standards for longer than a lot of you have been alive. Really.) 

Comments

[andi-horton.livejournal.com]

Auugh those shoes. I owned a pair for seven days. I told the girl at the store I knew they didn't do what the marketing claimed they did, but she swore they were still more comfortable for walking wear than anything else they had in stock.

On that recommendation, I bought them.

When I limped back in at the end of the week to get my money back and describe in detail how my legs felt (I used the words "knives" "fire" and "attacked by rabid weasels" with abandon) I was sorry she wasn't the one to take my return and my complaint.

Thank you for the compilation!

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

yep the Skechers ads were pretty sketchy. and in other news today, a judge at our Federal Trade Commission determined that Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice would not treat or prevent erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer and heart disease.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/ftc-pom-wonderful-false-advertising_n_1533596.html

At least you got your money back!!!

[adaese.livejournal.com]

I liked the first pair of those shoes that I bought, and do think they helped my (deplorable) posture a bit. Those wore out recently, and I don't get on as well with the second pair - I don't think they're quite as supportive. But I always thought they were making some pretty extravagant claims, and that most people would lose weight if, at the same time they bought new shoes, they also started a regular exercise programme.

Incidentally, that "just like walking on sand" claim? Don't wear them onto the beach. The doubled-up sand effect is most peculiar.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

The number of fraudulent weight loss products marketed here is staggering. The claims were extravagant and false. I'm assuming there's some UK entity that goes after false advertising? I know more about the prescription drug area -- European companies get really excited when they find out they can advertise in the US. And I've got my New Balance for running.

[adaese.livejournal.com]

All medicinal claims (traditional herbal remedies as well as prescription drugs) are very tightly controlled. Claims for miracle weight loss cures are hedged about with vast amounts of footnotes in small print ("Can only work as part of a calorie-controlled diet"). ISTR the Skechers were carefully phrased along the lines of "designed to" improve muscle tone, promote weight loss, and so forth. And I have lost a few pounds since I started using them, but I strongly suspect that has just a little bit to do with the fact that I'm much more active than I was before :-P (I also suspect a recent flurry of short trips away, with all their attendant English B&B full fry-up breakfasts, will have undone a couple of years' worth of careful exercising, but I'm in no particular hurry to check).

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

There's data from the Federal Trade Commission -- one of our many entities that regulates consumer products -- that shows that disclaimers don't work. The claim: "Lose 30 pounds in 30 days" followed by "Results not typical" led people to believe they would lose even more weight. Even a specific disclaimer: Lose 3-4 pounds the first week, 1-2 pounds per week thereafter and people thought it meant that's what the other guy did and they would lose more. I wonder if they ever tested the claim: This probably won't work for you.

Speaking of, I should probably get on the treadmill.

[edenfalling]

Wow. I wear Sketchers as my everyday shoes, but that's just a regular pair of black sneakers because I am on my feet all day at the smoke shop and sneakers are the most comfortable shoes for that kind of work. They actually tried to market shoes as a weight loss product??? The only way shoes are a weight loss product is if you wear them while excercizing!

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

One of the first weight loss cases the FTC ever brought involved, no lie, the "reducing couch" and that's from like 30 or 40 years ago. Really, it's not changed at all.

[edenfalling]

The reducing couch. *boggles*

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

Ugh, the whole HCG thing.., it just kills me, really. I've got a job in a health food store this summer, and the number of women who come in looking, firstly, for weight-loss miracle products make me want to cry. Or scream. Or something. But the HCG diet... "here, take this supplement and eat 500 calories a day and you'll be thin and beautiful!"

Of course you're going to lose weight if you only eat 500 calories a day. You're also going to lose your menstrual cycle, sleep, and your sanity, eventually. Really, people, really?

Sorry. Rant over. Soapbox destroyed.

...

Hey there, by the way! I'm not dead!

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

You are alive!!! Are you back in the states? Are you here for the summer? Speak to us?!! How are you????

I've handled all manner of regulated products over the years, and I'm not sure I could work in a health food store. Hint no 1: Just because it is natural does not mean it is good for you. Lead is natural; arsenic is natural. They can still kill you. Hint no 2: all those zillions of the products on the shelves? None has been approved by anyone. It's up to the company to possess substantiation for the claims and that substantiation is nearly always grossly inadequate. Up until very recently there was very little control over how they were manufactured. Sometimes, the reason why they work is because they are spiked with pharmaceuticals. Errrr I'll end my rant now.

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

I AM back in the States, working steadily away, baking in the heat. It's quite lovely.

And I agree with quite a lot of what you say. The store where I work, thankfully, concentrates mostly on selling local produce, whole foods, that sort of deal. The owner's also rather investing in aromatherapy, essential oils, all that jazz. The supplements, etc, we carry mostly because people expect us to (?)... but I agree. Augh, people. I weep for society sometimes.

[raykel.livejournal.com]

Wait. You mean I won't be magically thinner/in better shape if I wear the right shoes and/or take a pill? I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!