The marketers of ReJuvenation pills settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they falsely claimed that the pills had anti-aging properties and cured problems associated with aging, including cell damage, heart attack damage, brain damage, blindness, and deafness. As part of the settlement, Quantum Wellness Botanical Institute and its principals agreed to pay $660,000.
The FTC alleged that Quantum made numerous false claims about its products in direct-to-consumer mailers, postcards, and e-mails, as well as on its websites. For example, the FTC said that Quantum falsely claimed that ReJuvenation pills:
- Effectively stimulate or increase the body's production of human growth hormone, including by as much as 682%;
- Reverse the aging process and repair age-related damage in cells, skin, muscles, tissues, joints, and organs;
- Reduce wrinkles and improve memory;
- Repair heart attack damage and prevent or heal heart disease; and
- Are clinically proven to have certain results, including to increase the body's production of stem cells.
While the FTC may not be breaking new legal ground here, this case is a good reminder that the FTC continues to aggressively go after dietary supplement and other marketers who make what appear to be obviously false "cure-all" and other too-good-to-believe health claims.
At the end of the day, there's no substitute for competent and reliable scientific evidence when you're making health claims. And a $660K settlement shows that the FTC isn't going to let marketers benefit when they've crossed the line.
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