In Brief: Advertising Regulation, Vansen Consumer, Star Scientific

Council of Better Business Bureaus industry self-regulation arms referred to the Federal Trade Commission advertising by nutritional product marketers Elements of Health Care LLC and Natures Flava LLC after the firms failed to provide support for product claims. The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program on March 18 said it also referred direct-response advertising for Sanford, Fla.-based Natures Flava’s Dinamo supplement, which made claims, including customer testimonials, for treating diabetes. The National Advertising Division on March 14 referred to FTC ad claims for Lindon, Utah-based Elements of Health Care’s L’Arginine Plus supplements, including “Sharper and improved memory, restful sleeping and morning alertness, increased metabolism, reduction in menopause and PMT symptoms and a whole range of other benefits have all been linked to L-arginine.” CBBB’s divisions refer cases to FTC and FDA when firms refuse to provide substantiating evidence for claims or fail to follow recommendations following reviews.