According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), it “has continued its attack on bogus weight-loss claims by suing a diet patch manufacturer and a retailer that marketed the patch directly to Spanish-speaking consumers. In two separate federal court actions, the FTC charged that the patch manufacturer, Transdermal Products International Marketing Corporation, and the retailer, SG Institute of Health & Education, Inc., falsely claimed that the skin patch causes substantial weight loss. The FTC complaints in both cases also challenged false claims that the patch or its main ingredient, sea kelp, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FTC further alleged that Transdermal Products provided retailers with deceptive marketing materials that could be used to mislead consumers.”
“The defendants in both cases allegedly used one or more of the seven bogus weight-loss claims that are part of the FTC’s ‘Red Flag’ education campaign announced in December 2003. The ongoing Red Flag campaign provides guidance to assist media outlets and others in spotting false claims in weight-loss ads.” According to the FTC, one of the most common false weight-loss claims is that diet patches, topical creams and gels, body wraps, and other products worn on the body or rubbed into the skin can cause substantial weight loss (Source: Federal Trade Commission, www. ftc. gov/opa/2004/12/transdermal. htm).