TIRED OF THE HYPE AND PHONY CLAIMS?

Wouldn't it be great if every company made sure that they have real science to back up their claims! The Shaklee Corp has NEVER had any problem with the FTC or the FDA. I'm so proud to be a part of a company that proves its claims and is so ethical.Check out the links at the bottom of this post for more info.

FTC SUPPLEMENT CLAMP-DOWN TARGETS BOTH RETAILER AND SUPPLIER

By Lorraine Heller, 15-Jul-2009

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged both the retailer Rite Aid and its supplier for the deceptive marketing of dietary supplement products, providing a clear indication that the watchdog is ready to clamp down on all parties involved in false advertising.

FTC this week announced that the national pharmacy chain Rite Aid will pay $500,000 to settle charges for the deceptive advertising of its ‘Germ Defense’ supplements as able to prevent, treat or reduce the severity of colds and the flu.

At the same time, the advertising regulator has also charged Rite Aid’s supplier of the product, Improvita Health Products, with false and deceptive advertising in an ongoing case.
According to an FTC representative, the commission has changed its historic posture of only pursuing business-to-consumer deception and false advertising.

“FTC now will be aggressively pursuing business-to-business cases where the supplier of a raw material, a private label finished product who also provides certificates of analysis, ingredient specs, advertising, promotional or other substantiation will be held to the same standards as companies that advertise directly to consumers,” he reportedly told Loren Israelsen, executive director of trade group United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA).

Immune focus
Rite Aid and Improvita had marketed Germ Defense lozenges and tablets as dietary supplements that contained vitamins C and E, zinc, and echinacea. FTC’s complaints against the companies noted that the products claimed to: Reduce the risk of or prevent colds and flu; protect against or fight germs; reduce the severity or duration of a cold; protect against colds and flu in crowded places; and boost the immune system.

FTC charged that there is “inadequate evidence” to support these claims.
The current case provides additional evidence that FTC – which regulates product advertising – has immunity claims on its enforcement radar, as does the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates product label claims.

Lookalikes
It also indicates that FTC is “going after lookalike products”, according to Israelsen.
Rite Aid marketed the Germ Defense products by touting their similarity to products marketed by Airborne Health, which were sold as a cold prevention and treatment remedy. Airborne settled similar deceptive advertising charges with FTC last year.

As well as paying $500,000 for consumer redress, Rite Aid must also post a refund notice in a “clear and conspicuous” location in the cold-and-flu aisle at each of its stores for 60 days beginning on October 1, 2009.

FTC also filed a complaint against Improvita and two if its principles for “deceptive acts or practices” and with “making false advertisements”. Improvita allegedly supplied the Germ Defense products to Rite Aid and other retailers, and provided advertising, packaging, and promotional materials containing the unsubstantiated claims.

To learn more about our science, our environmental committment, and our social responsibility, go to http://shaklee.com/

To see some short video about us and our products and to enter the no obligation drawing for $200 of free Shaklee products, go to http://LandofAnd.com/SandraAbrams

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STUDY BREAKS DOWN SUPPLEMENT USE BY PHYSICIANS

By staff reporter, 16-Jul-2009

The majority of physicians and nurses in the US recommend supplements to their patients but also use them personally, finds a new study.

Commissioned by the supplement trade group Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and published in the peer-reviewed Nutrition Journal, the study surveyed 900 physicians and 277 nurses.

“Health professionals including physicians and nurses are just as interested in healthy lifestyles as members of the general public and are just as likely to benefit from rational supplementation,” wrote the authors, Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., past president of CRN, Andrew Shao, Ph.D., CRN vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, and Nicolas Boyon, senior vice president, Ipsos Public Affairs, who conducted the Study on behalf of CRN.

Multivitamins most popular

The online survey, conducted in October 2007, found that 72 percent of physicians and 89 percent of nurses used dietary supplements. In addition, 79 percent of physicians and 82 percent of nurses said that they recommend them to their patients.

Overall, the survey found that multivitamins were the most commonly used supplement. Other popular vitamins and minerals were vitamin C, a B vitamin complex, vitamin D, vitamin E and calcium.

Out of the non-vitamin and mineral products, physicians were most likely to use green tea, followed by fish oil, glucosamine, soy, flax seed and chondroitin. Nurses were most likely to use green tea, fish oil, echinacea, glucosamine and flax seed.

Motivations

Some 40 percent of physicians and 48 percent of nurses said they took supplements for “overall health and wellness”.

Over two-thirds of survey respondents said they had multiple motivations for using supplements, including bone health, flu or colds, heart health, immune health, joint health, energy and musculoskeletal pain.

When it came to recommending supplements to their patients, the most common reason was again overall health and wellness, followed by bone health, joint health, flu or colds, heart health, immune health, musculoskeletal pain, and energy.

“This latest survey adds to the growing body of published data suggesting that healthcare professionals are among the highest users of supplements,” said CRN.

Another study published in 2000 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 64 percent of female physicians used vitamin or mineral supplements at least occasionally, and 47 percent used a vitamin or mineral supplement at least five days a week.

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Shaklee commissioned the UC Berkeley School of Public Health to conduct a study comparing people who used Shaklee supplements over a period of 20 years or more with people who, over the same 20 years, either used another brand or no supplements at all.

To see the abstract of the Landmark Study go to http://landmarkstudy.com.

There you will find the study that confirmed that people who used Shaklee were dramatically healthier than people whoeither used another brand or no supplements at all.

To see a few short videos about Shaklee just go to http://landofand.com/sandraabrams

Be sure to fill in the form to be eligible to win $200 worth of Shaklee products absolutely free and with no obligaton.

To learn about all of the Shaklee products go to: http://shaklee.net/abrams.

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