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Senior Citizen Alerts
Fraudulent Diabetes Cures being Chased off Internet
in Three Country Campaign
FTC launches Website to educate on diabetes
frauds and 'cure alls'
 October
20, 2006 – A unified effort by U.S. regulators and agencies in Mexico
and Canada is underway to stop deceptive Internet advertisements and
sales of products misrepresented as cures for treatments for diabetes.
Warnings and advisories have been sent to online outlets in all three
countries. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), one of the agencies
involved, also announced today a new consumer education campaign on how
to avoid phony diabetes cures.
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Senior Citizen Alerts |
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The FTC materials encourage consumers to “Be smart,
be skeptical!” and are available in English, Spanish, and French. One
component is a “teaser” Web site (click
here). At first glance, the site appears to be advertising a cure
for diabetes called Glucobate, but when consumers click for more
information on ordering the product, it reveals information about
avoiding ads for phony cure-alls in the future.
The new education materials, including a bookmark
and consumer alert, are being introduced in time for Diabetes Awareness
Month in November. The American Dietetic Association has agreed to help
disseminate the information.
The FTC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
with agencies in Mexico and Canada, have so far sent approximately 180
warning letters and other advisories sent to online outlets in the three
countries.
“We will continue working with our partners in the
U.S. and internationally to make sure scammers have no place to hide,”
said Lydia Parnes, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“The Internet can be a great source of information,
but it also is a billboard for ads that promise miracle cures for
diabetes and other serious diseases. Our advice to consumers: ‘Be smart,
be skeptical’ when evaluating health claims online.”
“We will not tolerate practices that raise false
hopes and bilk consumers of precious health care dollars,” said Margaret
O’K. Glavin, FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs.
“Diabetes requires effective treatments and aggressive management, not
bogus and unproven products.”
The joint diabetes initiative to stop commercial
sale of fraudulent therapies originated with a Web surf for “hidden
traps” by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network
(ICPEN). This is an organization of law enforcement authorities, members
of the Mexico, United States, and Canada Health Fraud Working Group
(MUCH), and the attorneys general offices of Alaska, Michigan, Ohio,
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
MUCH, which consists of regulatory officials from
health, consumer and competition protection agencies in the three North
American countries, had previously conducted a campaign against
fraudulent weight-loss products.
Using the results of the Internet sweep, FTC sent
warning letters for deceptive ads to 84 domestic and 7 Canadian Web
sites targeting U.S. consumers, and referred an additional 21 sites to
foreign governments. About a quarter of the firms have already changed
their claims or removed their pages from the Internet, and several
others are in contact with FTC.
The FDA says it has issued warning letters to 24
firms marketing dietary supplement products with claims to treat, cure,
prevent or mitigate diabetes (see link to Warning Letters at
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dialist.html ).
The FDA letters warn firms that failure to promptly
correct the violations may result in enforcement action without further
notice, which may include seizure of violative products and/or
injunctions against the manufacturers and distributors.
FDA has developed a strategy to focus its
enforcement efforts in the area of dietary supplements, and today’s
announcement is one important action under that strategy. The strategy
was designed to address illegal dietary supplement ingredients and
ensure integrity and truthful labeling of dietary supplements.
One emphasis is on claims aimed at patients with
serious diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Within the last twelve
months, the agency has sent more than 100 warning letters and other
advisories to Internet firms and has seized products at one firm.
In addition, the agency maintains special Web
sites, in English and Spanish, which amplify the agency’s counsel to
consumers to check with their doctor, nurse or pharmacist before trying
any new health care product. These materials cover a broad range of
subjects of special interest to patients with diabetes
●
http://www.fda.gov/diabetes/;
●
http://www.fda.gov/diabetes/pills.html;
●
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/diabetes.html; and
●
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/sdiabetes.html), as well as more
general health care information.
Editor's Notes:
About the Federal Trade Commission
FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent,
deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to
provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file
a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to
take complaints) or to get free information on any of 150 consumer
topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the
complaint form at
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm. FTC enters Internet,
telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of
civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the United States and
abroad.
About the Food and Drug Administration
FDA protects and advances the public health by
regulating the nation’s food supply (except for meat and poultry, which
are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture), as well as all
human drugs, biological products such as vaccines, medical devices,
tissues for transplantation, devices that emit radiation and cosmetics,
and animal drugs.
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