01.01.03
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Silver Spring, MD, recently unveiled a draft framework for voluntary advertising practices for dietary supplements that are marketed for weight loss. The draft guidance was made public by Michael McGuffin, president, AHPA, at a workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) designed to explore alternate approaches to reducing deceptive claims in advertising for weight loss products. AHPA’s weight loss advertising guidelines were initiated in the summer of 2002 but accelerated when, on September 17th, 2002, FTC released its “Report on Weight Loss Advertising: An Analysis of Current Trends.” The FTC report concluded that false or misleading claims, such as exaggerated weight loss without diet or exercise and misleading consumer testimonials, are widespread in ads, many which appear in mainstream publications.