Oh this is just stupid. If half the energy that went into discovering pills and medications like this were to go into ways to change the diet industry from money sucking attention glommers full of fad diets, there would be so much less obesity in the American culture, animals included.
The above comment is from Andrea from my post on the new diet pill for Fat Fido, er, Plus Sized Pooch. This is a perfect segue into today's topic of human diet pills.
Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission took a bold step (yeah right) and fined the marketers of four weight loss drugs a collective total of $25 million for false claims.
A commercial for one of the drugs, Trimspa, is seen above with its spokesperson at the time, Anna Nicole Smith. The commercial is really pathethic. It makes me laugh every time I see it. "Trimspa, baby." Too funny.
"Testimonials from individuals are not a substitute for science," [FTC Chairman Deborah Platt] Majoras said. "And that's what Americans need to understand."Did I mention that even though these companies were fined, these "weight loss" products are remaining on the market? What kind of a joke is that? How many millions of dollars a year do these companies rake in? I believe that this fine is just a slap on the wrist. It's a completely meaningless gesture that will have no impact whatsoever.The FTC investigated a variety of claims, including rapid weight loss and reduction in the risk of osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and even cancer, Majoras noted.
That's the problem with these so-called dietary supplements. They can claim whatever they want. All they have to do is pay a fine and continue to spread their propaganda and sell their product.
Now, if prescription drugs made false claims, well that's another story. That's a big story. The drug would be removed from the market. It would be painted as another failure of the FDA and that's front page news. Also, another hit piece media story against pharmaceutical companies. Doctors would not be immune to this fall out as well - "How could doctors willingly particpate in the deception of patients?"
But, since it's products like, TrimSpa and Cortislim, well, they're not really medications, are they? They're just supplements. Everyone knows that they say their weight loss drugs, but they really don't mean it. It's just a marketing thing.
The lack of accountibility and the double standard here really get me upset. If the federal government wants to send the right message and to make an impact, they should remove these "diet pills" from the market. Oh yeah, I forgot. This is the federal government where bureaucracy, politics, and the status quo rule. Thanks for tolerating my whining once again. Have a great weekend!