FTC Sends Additional Warning Letters To 30 More Marketers Nationwide To Stop Making Unsubstantiated Claims That Their Products And Therapies Can Treat Or Prevent COVID-19, The Disease Caused By the Novel Coronavirus
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on June 18, 2020, the FTC announced that it has sent a seventh set of warning letters to 30 more marketers nationwide as part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from health-related COVID-19 scams. In total, thus far, the FTC has sent similar letters to 250 companies and individuals.
Most of the letters sent by the FTC target “treatments” the FTC has warned companies about previously, including intravenous (“IV”) Vitamin C and D infusions, supposed stem cell therapy, vitamin injections, essential oils, and CBD products. Other letters sent recently challenged claims that infrared heat, oral peroxide gel, and oxygen therapy can treat or cure COVD-19. However, currently there is no scientific evidence that these, or any, products or services can treat or cure the disease.
The FTC’s most recent letters announced on June 18, 2020 were sent to the companies and individuals listed below, and the recipients are grouped based on the type of therapy, product, or service they pitched as preventing or treating COVID-19.
CBD
- CBD Center (Fresno, California)
Essential Oils
- Big Sky Compounding (Kalispell, Montana)
- Myers Detox (Los Angeles, California)
Infrared Heat
Intravenous (IV) Vitamin and Ozone/Oxygen Therapies
- Arlington Integrative Medical Center (Arlington, Texas)
- Dr. Miguel Gonzalez (Thousand Oaks, California)
- Joyce Palmer (Tucson, Arizona)
- Koi Wellbeing (La Jolla, California)
- NewSkin Laser Center (Northridge, California)
- Taylor Medical Wellness, Weight Loss and Aesthetic Group (Atlanta, Georgia)
- The Grossgold Clinic (Clearwater, Florida)
- The Remedy Room (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Utopia Wellness (Oldsmar, Florida)
Oral Peroxide Gel
- San Francisco Dental Wellness (San Francisco, California)
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy
- Anatara Medicine – San Francisco Stem Cell Treatment Center (San Francisco, California)
- BioBalance PEMF (Towson, Maryland)
- Dr. William Pawluk (Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland)
- Eastbay Wellness Pte Ltd. (Singapore)
- PEMF Wellness Technology (East Haven, Connecticut)
Stem Cell Treatments
- Colts Neck Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (Colts Neck, New Jersey)
- BioXcellerator (Phoenix, Arizona)
Supplements, Vitamins, and Colloidal Silver
- Dr. Laura E. Koniver (Fort Mill, South Carolina) and Intuition Physician, LLC (Haymarket, Virginia)
- Herbal Arc (Langhorne, Pennsylvania)
- Encode Nutrition (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Fussy Body
- Huber Personalized Medicine, LLC (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado (Grand Junction, Colorado)
- Joy Wellness Partners (San Diego, California)
- Loudoun Holistic Health Partners (Leesburg, Virginia)
- The Herb Doctor (Fountain, Colorado)
In the letters, the FTC states that one or more of the efficacy claims made by the marketers are unsubstantiated, because they are not supported by scientific evidence, and, therefore, violate the FTC Act. The letters advise the recipients to immediately stop making all claims that their products can treat or cure COVID-19, and to notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns. The letters also note that if the false claims do not cease, the FTC may seek a federal court injunction and an order requiring money to be refunded to consumers. In April, the FTC announced its first case against a marketer of such products, Marc Ching, doing business as Whole Leaf Organics.
Source: Federal Trade Commission – FTC.gov