"Be Smart, Be Skeptical" About Phony Diabetes Cures
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have joined forces against Internet advertisements that promise phony miracle cures for diabetes. With the slogan, "Be Smart, Be Skeptical", the FDA hopes to educate consumers on how to avoid the many fraudulant products and cure-alls for diabetes and other serious diseases that are for sale on the Internet.
According to a press release dated October 19, 2006, the FDA's Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, Margaret O'K. Glavin states, "We will not tolerate practices that raise false hopes and bilk consumers of precious health care dollars. Diabetes requires effective treatments and aggressive management, not bogus and unproven products.”
So far, close to 200 warnings have been sent out to both domestic and foreign web sites which have been advertising bogus product claims to online customers. The warning letter, states that the web site has violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and that action is necessary to correct the violations or enforcement action will be taken.
- List of Firms Receiving Warning Letters.
The FTC has also launched a "teaser" web site that appears to be an advertisement for a diabetes cure called "Glucobate". When consumers click on the "order now", button, a list of tips on how to spot Internet scams pops up instead. Check out these "tip-offs to the rip-offs" by going to the "Glucobate" web site.
Before buying any diabetes health care product from the Internet, always check with your healthcare provider and/or pharmacist. You can also explore these sites from the FDA for more information on diabetes:
- Welcome to the FDA Web Site on Diabetes
- Diabetes Medications
- Do You Have Diabetes?
- Información Rápida-Diabetes
Photo by Marinela Sotoncic
Comments
At the request of the FDA warning letter, Informulab, makers of Beta Fast Glucose Balance and Glucose Tolerance, has removed all customer testimonials from our websites {content removed at discretion of About.com}
Sincerely,
David Goldberg
President
Informulab
Sincerely,
David Goldberg
Thanks for writing, David. Unfortunately, About.com’s policy on posting commercial websites on the diabetes site means that your post, which is mostly a link to a commercial website, must be removed. I hope you understand.
Thanks,
Deb M
Deb:
Thanks for the comment. I certainly understand removing the link.
Regarding the article, it is just another of many unchecked instances of the Federal Government (via the FDA & FTC) overstepping the First Amendment/Freedom of Speech rights of its citizenry.
Any citizen interested in Beta Fast (or any other product) deserves to know what other users think about that product and how it has worked for them. Restricting my ability to publish my customer’s experiences as testimonials violates that constitutional right.
The public deserves safe, quality, researched supplements like Beta Fast. Shame on the FDA for limiting what we may know about them.
David
I don’t hold much stock in the FDA. After all, there are plenty of drugs approved by the FDA that have dangerous side effects, and yet the FDA allows them to continue to be available. I view the FDA warnings as a bullet from the pharmaceutical companies who are miffed because someone some where isn’t buying their over-priced product. We are Americans and we have the right to make our own choices. Not every natural product is going to work for some individuals…just like not every pharmaceutical product is going to work for them either. What the FDA’s action comes down to is money…I have never for one moment believed they ever had my physical well-being at heart. I am an American. I make my own choices.
Thanks for commenting.
It’s always great to have a forum for discussion.
I don’t think the point of the FDA crackdown is to eradicate every supplement ever sold. It’s to help keep disreputable companies from selling products that promise miracle cures and sell false hopes. And especially to prevent them from running rampant on the internet.
Type 1 Diabetes is not curable. Yet, there are ads for products that claim to cure it. Type 2 can be prevented or delayed sometimes by lifestyle changes and exercise. But Type 2 diabetes is also a serious disease that often needs prescribed medications to keep blood glucose levels within as near normal ranges as possible. If blood glucose levels are too high, for too long, serious, lifethreatening complications will result; such as blindness, organ failure, and amputations.
There’s a place for supplements in American society. But there’s no place for illegimate and unfounded claims that can seriously harm people, in any country.
Thanks again for your comment.
Deb M
Sick people are like drowning people clutching at straws. These advertisers give false hope and exploit the vunerable. When they advertise their remedy, they should prove that a group study was done to establish its worth.