FTC, diet pill marketers settle for $25M

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recovered $25 million as a settlement in its cases alleging deceptive advertising against marketers of four diet pills.

The FTC filed separate cases against the marketers, alleging that claims about weight loss and weight control were not supported by scientific evidence. In settling the matters, marketers of Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and One-A-Day WeightSmart surrendered cash and other assets worth at least $25 million and agreed to limit their future advertised claims, the agency said in a news release.

"You won't find weight loss in a bottle of pills that claims it has the latest scientific breakthrough or miracle ingredient," said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. "Paying for fad science is a good way to lose cash, not pounds."

Besides fines and penalties, the settlements also stipulated that the marketers are barred from making claims regarding the products' benefits unless the claims can be substantiated by scientific evidence.

The FTC said the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus referred some of these cases.