BRIEFS

`FAT TRAPPER' obtains TRAPPED

Marketers of the Enforma combination of parts to form a whole have agreed to settle FTC charges of deceptively advertising that the user could "eat what you want and at no time ever, ever have to diet again." The combination of parts to form a whole consists of "Fat Trapper," a chitosan-based produce purported to prevent the absorption of dietary fat, and "Exercise in a Bottle" a pyruvate proceeds that supposedly increases the body's capacity to consume fat. The system was promot chiefly end televised 30-minute infomercials, featuring former baseball player Steve Garvey, as well as end the company's Web site. The arrangement prohibits the marketers from making unsubstantiated claims that any outcome service, or program: provides weight superintendence without dieting or exercise; debars fat absorption; increases metabolism; reduce to ashess fat; or allows weight los flat if users eat high-fat sustenances The company must also pay $10 million to be used for restores or distributed to the U Treasury.

FIBER/COLON CANCER LINK DISPUTED

Evidence is mounting that no link exists between dietary fiber intake and colon cancer. Last year, researchers reported that a 16-year prospective application of mind of 88,757 women found no significant relationship between fiber intake and the casualty of precancerous polyps (colorectal adenomas) (N Eng J M 340:169-176 1999) This year, researchers reported upon a clinical trial involving 1429 men and women ages 40 to 80 who had had individual or more colorectal adenomas remov within three month before the application of mind began. The participants entered a supervised program of dietary supplementation with either high amounts (135 g for day) or low amounts (2 g through day) of wheat bran fiber. Of the 1303 make submissives who completed the study, 719 had been randomly assigned to the high-fiber cluster and 584 to the low-fiber cluster By the time of the last follow-up colonoscopy, at least individual adenoma had been identified in 338 make submissives (47%)in the high-fiber group and 299 make subordinates (51%) in the low-fiber clump The authors concluded that "as used in this application of mind a dietary supplement of wheat-bran fiber does not preserve against recurrent colorectal adenomas (N Eng J M 342:1156-1162 2000)

TAX STATUS OF WEIGHT-CONTROL PROGRAMS

In 1999 the American Obesity Association and ten other clusters petitioned the Internal Revenue Service to permit the take away from of weight-loss treatment (surgery, remedy therapy, behavioral counseling, and weight-control programs) to be tax-deductible. The agency replyed that such a ruling would require evidence either that obesity itself is a disease or that weight los by the agency of an obese person prevents the charge of disease. The association submitted substantiating information to the IRS upon March 17, 2000. IRS income Ruling 99-28 allows taxpayers a medical deduction and approves the use of medical savings accounts for smoking cessation programs and medicines. Weight-control collections are also mobilizing their members to ask Congres to give weight-control programs the same tax status.

of recent origin WEB SITE FOR CONTACTING COMPANIES

PlanetFeedback has launched a Web site (www.planetfeedback.com) for channeling consumer complaints, praise, and suggestions and for promoting answers from the companies to which they are directed. The site provides templates to provide an efficient way to generate messages that are forwarded to the appropriate company officials. To increase impact, alphabetic characters can be copied to regulation agencies, consumer associations, friends, and family. The site also provides a utility for organizing and monitoring their communications to companies, an online community, shared information upon companies and a "BuyersBuzz" of recent origins service for consumer-specific reports information.

PROPAGANDA TACTIC

Daniel E Shaugnessey, vice president for governmental and public affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, has urg supplement-industry spokespeople to vigorously gainsay allegations that supplements are unsafe and that the industry is "largely unregulated." In the May 2000 issue of Whole commonss a trade magazine, he advises: "Always count reporters that the FDA plants the format for supplemental label easy in mind requires approval for nutrient contented claims, and can declare produces misbranded or adulterated." Although these statements are literally veritable the FDA cannot adequately secure consumers because: (a) its enforcement power was greatly weakened by the agency of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994; (b) it lacks the resources to trial whether products contain what their labels say; and (c) it lacks the resources to attack the enormous number of false and misleading claims made for appendix products.

PRODUCT LABELS INACCURATE

Researchers at the University of Arkansas who experimented 20 supplement products containing ephedra (ma huang) set many differences in alkaloid satisfied from product to product and between sum of two units lots of the same returns Half the products exhibited discrepancies of 20% or more between the label claim and the actual satisfied and one product contained no ephedra alkaloids (Am J Health Syst Pharm 57:963-969 2000) Ephedra cropss are marketed as "energy boosters" and/or "thermogenic" diet aids, flat though no published clinical trials substantiate that they are safe or effective for these objects The researchers also noted that centurys of such products are marketed and that their number caps that of conventional prescription and nonprescription ephedra harvests (which are FDA-approved as decongestants). The April issue of D magazine (Dallas, Texas) reported that--at its request--a leading laboratory had experimented five brands of DHEA, ginger, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, melatonin, saw palmetto, St John's wort, and milk thistle. The ginger and melatonin returnss contained the stated amounts, on the contrary 10 of the other 30 proceedss did not, and a not many products had capsules that easily barbarous apart.