False COVID-19 Claims In US Consumer Health Market: Rampant With Forecast For More
Bogus Claims Riddled With Spelling And Grammar Errors, Too
Executive Summary
In addition to 45 businesses with varying levels of communication skills the FTC targeted in its latest batch of warnings about false advertising linked coronavirus, the FDA "sent hundreds of abuse complaints to domain name registrars and internet marketplaces" also linked to bogus COVID-19 claims.
Some US businesses offering vitamins, herbs, homeopathics, essential oils and similar products as well as acupuncture and other alternative remedies as COVID-19 treatments are not only unaware of prohibitions against the claims, but also deficient in spelling, grammar and punctuation skills.
In addition to 45 businesses with varying levels of communication skills the Federal Trade Commission targeted in its latest batch of warnings about false and misleading advertising linked the novel coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration announced its "Operation Quack Hack" is finding fraudulent drugs, testing kits and personal protective equipment sold online with unproven COVID-19 (see box).
Both agencies, as well as federal prosecutors and state authorities will find false COVID-19 claims prevalent in the consumer health products market as long as the pandemic continues, regulatory and public health experts tell HBW Insight.
"Now is a perfect storm for criminals who want to prey on the fears of average citizens," said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and president and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest body for the study of health matters.
Federal and state authorities, Pitts said, have limited resources to police a consumer packaged goods market that is made exponentially larger and more difficult to monitor by online sales. Evading enforcement is easier for an online business than for retailers offering goods in stores.
Quack Hack Scores Complaints
The FDA on 7 May said it had submitted a total of 42 warning letters to companies making bogus COVID-19 claims and that multiple firms were shut down by federal courts after they failed to comply with the agency's directions. (Also see "Utah Silver Supplement Provider's COVID-19 Remedy Claim No Surprise To Authorities" - HBW Insight, 30 Apr, 2020.)
Additionally, its Operation Quack Hack has discovered hundreds of violative products leading to "hundreds of abuse complaints to domain name registrars and internet marketplaces, who in most instances, have voluntarily removed the identified postings."
However, unlike its warning letters to firms linked to unlawful COVID-19 claims for supplements or other consumer health products and services, the agency isn't disclosing who or which businesses are linked to the online operations targeted in its abuse complaints.
"They can shut down and reopen in 15 minutes on a different website," Pitts said.
At the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, John Troup, vice president, scientific affairs and dietary supplements, pointed out that the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act clearly identifies manufacturers' and marketers' responsibilities for regulatory compliance.
CHPA applauds FDA and FTC for the actions they have taken against companies making illegal and unsubstantiated claims regarding COVID-19. However, these companies represent a small fraction of the larger dietary supplement industry," Troup said in an email.
The FTC announced on 7 May that it has sent warnings letters about COVID-19 claims to nearly 100 companies and individuals selling colloidal silver, teas ozone therapy and stem cell treatments along with common vitamins, some delivered intravenously in high doses. (Also see "Like Health And Economic Impact, COVID-19 Unprecedented As Unlawful Claims Driver" - HBW Insight, 23 Apr, 2020.)
With its most recent warnings, the agency adds to the array of treatments it has found promoted with false COVID-19 claims Chinese herbal medications, music therapy, homeopathic treatments and "shields claimed to boost the immune system by protecting the wearer from electromagnetic fields."
The warning letters, typical of those the FTC and the FDA commonly send, note where the targeted businesses or persons have made spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors in claims and other statements promoting their products.
Examples of communication errors noted in the FTC letters include:
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Online retailer Barry Cohen, Port St. Lucie, FL: "… the time to prepare yourself and your family to be and stay healthy for [sic] the extremely contagious COVID-19 Coronavirus by boosting your immune systems while protecting yourselves for [sic] the virus! Its [sic] a smart idea to start taking Zeolite AV."
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EHE Clinic & Wellness, Blacksburg, VA: “'Help with Multiple Symptoms and Rebalance' formula marketed toward 'People Suspected Have [sic] Coronavirus' and that was “used in Wuhan to treat coronavirus patients…"
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Essentia Chinese Herbs, Scottsdale, AZ: "ThroatEase Will eliminate toxins from the lymphatic system near neck & throat when you breath [sic] in to prevent the toxins going into your lungs."
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Holistic Health Acupuncture, Medford, OR: “We have the tools to possibly prevent and also shorten the duration and intensity of COVID-10 [sic] with Chinese Herbal Protocols."
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Naturments, Lauderdale Lakes, FL: "It’s the least you can do since so far government’s [sic] haven’t come up with any vaccine that could cure the deadly virus…"
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New Leaf Wellness LLC, Attn: Dr. Robert Sieman, DO, West Des Moines, IA: "This should be used as a treatment adjuvant and a prophylactic ad [sic] can help with may [sic] conditions beyond viral illness!"
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NothingsIncurable.com, c/o Sean Martu: "Ingesting these powdered seeds will literally make you invulnerable you [sic] contagious pathogens …"; “Nitric Oxide proven to reduce affects [sic] of the CoronaVirus…"; and “There are hundreds of medical studies researching the affects [sic] of Nitric Oxide (NO), towards stopping the replication of CoronVirus/SARS [sic]."
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Fuller Life Chiropractic, Peachtree City, GA: "Internal defences [sic] are those your body innately has. These defences [sic] are the best line of defence [sic] against any sort of pathogen."
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(The other warning letters the FTC most recently sent are listed in a table below.)
Resources Limit Oversight
The warning letters and other actions targeting COVID-19 claims that regulatory authorities represent probably a small part of the businesses and persons motivated by the pandemic to make violative claims for consumer health products and services.
The FDA, Pitts said, has to weigh the resources it has available for monitoring the consumer health products space with the potential threat to public health when deciding whether to warn or conduct other enforcement against marketers making unlawful COVID-19 claims.
The higher the potential that a product will cause harm – either from its use or by deterring consumers from receiving appropriate care for their conditions – the more likely it is the agency will act.
"You have to figure out what the biggest bang for the regulatory buck is," Pitts said in an interview.
The FDA has no shortage of critics about its regulation of the supplement market, and agency officials will say that additional funding is needed for that area of work. (Also see "Digital Citizens Study Finds Many CBD Products Are Placebos And Most Are Inaccurately Labeled" - HBW Insight, 15 Mar, 2020.)
Pitts sees the FDA as doing all it can to police the market currently. "The question is, do they have the resources to do better? Right now, they do not," he said.
CHPA also supports boosting the FDA's budget for supplement market oversight. Troup notes that compliant manufacturers and marketers aren't the reason the agency needs additional funding. (Also see "State Agencies Sharpen Supplement Market Oversight During Pandemic, With Industry's Thanks" - HBW Insight, 29 Mar, 2020.)
"Close monitoring and swift enforcement action by FDA and FTC on these fraudulent COVID-19 claims is critically important and CHPA along with the other trade associations support FDA and FTC efforts to protect public health," he said.
"We support the reliable and competent use of good quality science and encourage all in the industry to follow this same approach. To protect consumers, responsible industry also supports increased funding for FDA’s Office of Dietary Supplement Programs to enhance enforcement efforts," Troup added.