FTC, FDA Continue to Protect Consumers by Acting Against Unsupported Claims that Certain Products Can Treat or Prevent Coronavirus
It didn’t take long for marketers to exploit an international crisis of the highest magnitude. We can debate the propriety of tapping into consumers’ fears, but lying about “cures” for the coronavirus is hitting an all new low level.
The FTC and FDA have sent warning letters to seven companies promoting and selling unapproved products that make deceptive or scientifically unsupported claims about their ability to treat coronavirus (COVID-19).
Here are the names of the seven companies:
- Vital Silver
- Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd.
- N-ergetics
- GuruNanda, LLC
- Vivify Holistic Clinic
- Herbal Amy LLC
- The Jim Bakker Show
These companies have advertised products including teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver as preventive supplements or treatments for the coronavirus. As per the FDA, there are “no approved vaccines, drugs, or investigational products currently available to treat or prevent the virus.”
Here’s more that the FTC has done in the interest of consumer safety:
- “The FTC recently issued a new consumer blog post with information about how to identify and avoid coronavirus-related scams. Coronavirus: Scammers follow the headlines notes that scammers are setting up websites to sell bogus products, and using fake emails, texts, and social media posts as a ruse to take consumers’ money and get their personal information. It then warns consumers of the “red flags” to be aware of when shopping for products related to the virus.”