FTC stops bogus ads for Bio Trim
false and misleading claims about its weight-loss products, said
the Federal Trade Commission this week.
The FTC filed a complaint in November last year, alleging that the company made false and unsubstantiated claims in advertising on their websites and in magazines and newspapers around the country.
These included claims that Bio Trim 'guarantee[d] rapid weight loss' and its users could 'eat all [they] want and still lose weight'.
Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said: "The claims made for Bio Trim were simply not possible. There is no pill that lets you eat all you want and still lose weight."
Under the terms of the Commission's charges, the company can no longer claim that any weight-loss product: 1) causes users to lose substantial weight while eating unlimited amounts of food, 2) causes substantial weight loss by blocking the absorption of fat or calories, or 3) works for all overweight users.
A judgment of more than $2.1 million, representing the amount of consumer injury, will be suspended due to defendants' inability to pay, said the FTC's statement. The judgment will be imposed if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.
The order against Natural Products is a result of 'Operation Big Fat Lie', the Commission's November 2004, multi-agency crackdown on false weight-loss advertising.
