My question (this is a worthless homeopathic “medicine”, made from the liver of a duck): why does the Federal government allow this?
For those of you who have not seen the ad, it shows a cartoon woman getiing the flu-she pops a few of these pills, and good as new!
Since homeopathy is about as reputable as withces casting spells, I have a few questions:
-are the claims made in the ad disputabel in a court of law?
-if somebody dies because they take this crap, can the networks be sued?
-the ad ran to fast-but if they included the standard disclaimer “this product has not been evaluated…not intended to diagnose or treat any disease”-does that men that they can be sued for fraud?
What “non-drug” companies can get away with annoys the crap outta me. They walk such a fine line on what they can say that sounds like their non-drug is going to do, but without actually claiming to cure a disease. Saying things like “improving your XXXXXXXXXX health” sounds to me like a medicinal claim, but to the FDA, it’s not claiming to cure a disease or symptom.
One of my “favorites” is the crap invented by teachers to improve your immune system (with the underlying unspoken claim that you’ll get sick less often). I am convinced that this is another data point that shows how the FDA is lacking in clues.
Sorry, forgot to answer your q’s.
not if they’re vague enough. What the hell does it mean to “improve your xxxxx system”
IANAL, but I would guess not. The networks are not charged with verifying the information presented to them in ads.
Fraud for what? They’re only claiming to “improve” such-and-such. They’re not claiming anything specific. Show me that your such and such isn’t improved after taking their “non-drug”. Even if you can show that your such-and-such has gone down (say, you logged every single illness you got for five years before taking the non-drug and five years after and you got sick more often, they can still claim that you’d be sicker still, if you hadn’t taken the non-drug. Prove that you wouldn’t be sicker still.
We have this one too over here. The weird thing is that adds for drugs are banned in France. But since this is actually not a drug, they can run adds. Net result : the only products that get advertised on TV are homoeopathic. IOW, you can advertise a medicine only if it’s completely inefficient. :rolleyes:
How very Cartesian! This stuff is NOT a drug, it is completely ineffective, and proven worthless.In addition, it is based upon a belief system that is totally false.
Because of all these things, it can be advertised!:smack:
Sorry! I had a good laugh over this!
Head On: Apply directly to forehead!
My local pharmacy sells copper bracelets as a ‘health aid’ or something similar. :rolleyes:
The packaging advertises that they can ‘help’ rheumatism, blood circulation and disorders. :smack:
I politely challenged the manager, saying “What proof is there that they work and are not just a waste of money?”
He tried asking me “What is proof?”
“Double blind scientific trials.”
“Oh, OK. But we wouldn’t actually recommend them as medicinal.”
At this point another member of staff enthusiastically said how well the bracelet worked for her aunt. 
A neighbor’s roommate borrow a stick from the neighbor, & applied some directly…to his penis.
Guess what happened?
Post guesses here.
Wrong!
My neighbor went out & bought a new stick of Head On. :D:D:D:D:D:D
ralph said: “if somebody dies because they take this crap, can the networks be sued?”
I’ve never understood how TV and publications can get away with running ads for obvious health fraud, but they do. There are no internal ethical standards preventing the promotion of this garbage, and ever-increasing incentive for publications to do so, considering their shaky economic status.
Any deaths due to taking homeopathic drugs are probably going to be due to neglect of a serious condition, rather than the meds themselves (water containing a “memory” of molecules is not dangerous. Or effective for anything except gullibility). What reactions occur because of the drugs take place because they’re not as diluted as true homeopathic preparations, or have been deliberately contaminated with real drugs (of which the consumer is unaware). Example.
I am considering marketing my own device for turning cheap metals into gold. If homeopathy has so many eager believers, why shouldn’t alchemy make a comeback?
Now that’s a court case I’d like to see. The plaintiff would be trying to prove that there was medicine in the medicine (there isn’t) but the manufacturing company could get off the hook by proving that they sold a product with no active ingredients whatsoever.
Anecdote will win over hard cold, boring data every time. I’ve about given up trying to get people to find the truth in objective data. Unfortunately, emotional reaction to an anecdote is the same as true scientific validation.
I’m going to go cry in a corner, and then go to my lab tomorrow and “manufacture more lies.” Ones that might actually save lives some day.
Vlad/Igor
Before the class action lawsuit, I noticed that “claim” and noted to myself and my family, “Why would I want to buy any pharmaceutical product developed by a 2nd grade teacher, who is not a scientist and knows nothing of pharmacology?”
They all agreed with me.
Ha! I did not know that. And I am glad that one of these charlatans went over the line enough to get spanked. Sadly, since I still see their ads, they didn’t get spanked hard enough.
Indeed-this “medicine” is made bt Boiron (a French company). Anybody know what the US FDA rules are for useless medicines? Since the pills contain nothing but sugar, are they considered candy?
I think i will run an experiemnt!
The placebo effect is worth something though. If the woman feels better, its probably worth the price of the stupid bracelet.
My father wears one, which he also insists has helped with arthritis in his wrist. And you know what, if he thinks he is in less pain, I’m not going to try and convince him he isn’t. Its pretty snazzy looking too.
“Quack” medicine? :dubious:
Oh, this makes me SO mad! Along with the unfounded claims of these shysters and their snake oil getting away with skirting ANY rules and regulations regarding safety and efficacy, I’d like to also do away with cosmetics company claims (better than Botox! 90% improvement in 20 minutes!) and fraudulent weight loss ads. And it is my opinion that basically ALL weight loss ads are fraudulent…the only thing that gets lighter is your wallet. I have to turn this stuff off when I see it because it makes me fume.