False advertising on Malaysian TV
anak...@my-dejanews.com
change!) and noticed this DRTV (formerly known as TVMedia) promoting this
Helsinki Hair regrowth formula
Is there no proper regulation on all sorts of health claims this companies are
promoting??
I did a search on the Net and found this piece of interesting news:
Helsinki Formula founder will settle lawsuit over hair ads
By Jennifer Wing / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The man whose company reaped millions from a purported cure
for baldness will forfeit 80 percent of his bankruptcy proceeds to settle a
false advertising lawsuit, the government said Wednesday. But the hundreds
of thousands of consumers who doled out $49.85 apiece for Helsinki Formula
will probably see nothing of the $27 million in profits Hal Z. Lederman made
off the product, the Federal Trade Commission said. "It's likely that the
cost of returning the money to the consumers will exceed what they'll get
back," said Eleanor Durham, an FTC attorney who helped to litigate the case.
Between 1985 and 1990, Lederman's Pantron I Corp. sold $100 million of the
Helsinki Formula, mainly through what was then a new advertising technique
called "infomercials." With actor Robert Vaughan featured in many of the
program-length commercials, the company claimed it had scientific proof that
Helsinki Formula promoted hair regrowth. But the FTC disagreed with that
assertion and filed a false advertising suit in 1988. A 1992 decision by a
federal court in Los Angeles barred the company from claiming its product
had scientific backing. But the court said the product could be advertised
as effective for some people and denied a request for consumer redress. On
appeal, however, the federal court was ordered to revamp its decision to
reflect that the Helsinki ads were false and to call on the company to
provide monetary relief. Since those court actions, Lederman filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1994, and Pantron I went out of business in October
1995, ending the sale of Helsinki. Durham said the FTC wanted Lederman to
forfeit all profits he made from the Helsinki Formula, but she conceded it's
unlikely he'll have that much money left in the wake of his bankruptcy.
Under Wednesday's agreement, the government is to collect 80 percent of the
distributions from Lederman's bankruptcy liquidation, once the proceedings
are complete. The settlement also prohibits Lederman from claiming in the
future that any baldness cures he might sell are "effective in curtailing
hair loss," unless it passes guidelines issued by the Food and Drug
Administration. In addition, the settlement says if Lederman ever sells any
food, drug, device or cosmetic in the future, he must have "competent and
reliable scientific evidence" before claiming the product has any benefits.
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*fairplay
Find out who owns the promoters in Malaysia and you will know the reason why!!