From: TruthMonger <tm@dev.null>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 09:41:48 +0800
To: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: Cancer Cure Foung! / Re: FTC, Canada, Mexico officials launch "health claim surf day"
In-Reply-To: <v0300780fb08941d117ed@[168.161.105.141]>
Message-ID: <346A475F.67F5@dev.null>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



I have just discovered that shouting "Fuck the FTC!" at the top of
your lungs a half-dozen times cures cancer.
Look for the details soon, on my website.

http://truthmonger.dev

Declan McCullagh wrote:
> 
> [From Nov 5 Natural Healthline. --Declan]
> 
> ******************************************
> FTC Launches North American Health Claim Surf Day
> ******************************************
> 
> by Michael Evers
> 
> The Federal Trade Commission recently joined with public health and
> consumer  protection and information agencies from the United States,
> Canada, and  Mexico to "surf" the Internet for potentially false or
> deceptive  advertising claims concerning treatments or cures for heart
> disease,  cancer, AIDS, diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.
> 
> The FTC announced today that in just a few hours during the recently
> conducted North American Health Claim Surf Day, Internet surfers
> identified more than 400 World Wide Web sites and numerous Usenet
> newsgroups that contain promotions for products or services purporting
> to help cure, treat or prevent these six diseases.
> 
> The FTC said that it sent hundreds of Web sites and newsgroups e-mail
> messages pointing out that advertisers must have evidence to back up
> their claims. FTC staff will follow-up by revisiting the targeted sites
> in the coming weeks to determine if changes have been made. Suspected
> violators received an e-mail warning which said the following:
> 
> The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), its federal and state law
> enforcement  partners, and public health and consumer protection
> agencies from Mexico  and Canada are sending you (and hundreds of other
> Internet advertisers)  this message based upon a review of the promotion
> you disseminated through  the Internet.
> 
> The FTC and its partners have NOT determined whether your Internet
> promotion violates United States federal or state laws, Mexican law, or
> Canadian law. Nevertheless, we want to remind you that when you make
> health claims in promoting a product, service, or treatment, those
> claims  must be truthful and non-deceptive.
> 
> Deceptive Acts or Practices Are Unlawful under the FTC Act
> 
> In the United States, Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45),
> prohibits  deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. In
> addition, Section  12 of the Act (15 U.S.C. § 52) prohibits the
> dissemination of any false  advertisement to induce the purchase of any
> food, drugs, or devices.
> 
> An advertisement is misleading and deceptive if the advertiser makes an
> objective claim, either expressly or by implication, including through
> the  use of consumer testimonials, without a "reasonable basis" to
> support that  claim. As set out in the Commission's Advertising
> Substantiation Policy  Statement, advertisements that specify the level
> of substantiation that the  advertiser possesses (e.g., "tests prove" or
> "studies show") must be  supported by at least that level of evidence.
> If the advertisement does not  specify a particular type of
> substantiation, the Commission considers  several factors in determining
> the appropriate level of substantiation.  Typically, claims of the sort
> included on your Internet site must be  substantiated by competent and
> reliable scientific evidence. Competent and  reliable scientific
> evidence is defined as tests, analyses, research,  studies, or other
> evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the  relevant area,
> that has been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner  by persons
> qualified to do so, using procedures generally accepted in the
> profession to yield accurate and reliable results. Anecdotal evidence
> and  consumer testimonials are not considered competent and reliable
> scientific  evidence. You may want to review your advertisement in light
> of these  standards.
> 
> Possible Violations in Other Jurisdictions
> 
> Unfair or deceptive acts or practices are also unlawful under various
> state  statutes in the United States. The standards under these statutes
> may be  different from those of the FTC's. In addition, by placing an
> Internet site  on the World Wide Web, you may be subject to scrutiny in
> other countries  where you sell your products. You should be aware that
> many countries,  including Mexico and Canada, also have laws that
> generally require  advertisements to be truthful and non-deceptive.
> 
> "Hopeful and sometimes desperate consumers spend millions of dollars on
> unproven, deceptively marketed, and often useless 'miracle cures' and
> the  Internet should not become the newest medium for this age-old
> problem,"  said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of
> Consumer Protection.  "In addition to wasting consumers' money, some
> products or treatments may  even cause them serious harm or endanger
> their lives. Even when the  advertised remedy is harmless, it can still
> have a detrimental effect if it  causes consumers to stop or slow the
> use of proven treatments."
> 
> In addition to today's effort to prevent health fraud, the FTC has
> recently  conducted several other Internet Surf Days focusing on
> different types of  fraud, including pyramid schemes and deceptive
> business opportunity offers.
> 
> North American Health Claim Surf Day participants included:
> 
> U.S. Food and Drug Administration  Health Canada  Competition Bureau of
> Industry Canada  Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor of Mexico  the
> Secretaria de Salud of Mexico  Centers for Disease Control and
> Prevention  Federal Communications Commission (Denver Office)  Attorney
> General of Connecticut  Attorney General of Illinois  Attorney General
> of Kentucky  Attorney General of Maryland  Attorney General of
> Massachusetts  Attorney General of Minnesota  Attorney General of
> Missouri  Attorney General of North Carolina  Attorney General of
> Pennsylvania  Attorney General of Tennessee  Attorney General of Texas
> Attorney General of Vermont  Attorney General of Virginia  Attorney
> General of Wisconsin  Arthritis Foundation  American Heart Association
> American Diabetes Association  Capital Area and Tristate AIDS Task
> Force  Better Business Bureau serving northwest Ohio and southeast
> Michigan.
> 
> For more information,
> 
> Federal Trade Commission Web site  http://www.ftc.gov
> 
> Tom Carter  FTC Dallas Regional Director  1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2150
> Dallas, Texas 75201  (214) 979-9350