Diet Pills: Tremendous Temptation, Huge Frauds – Diet
Diet Pills: Tremendous Temptation, Huge Frauds
Dana Scripca
False campaigns
More than 50 percent of Americans and Canadians are overweight or obese. More than a half the advertising campaigns for diet pills and dietary supplements are intentionally false or fail to reveal the truth, according to the FTC. This enormous proportion reveals the dimensions of this money-generating industry. Consumers in North America spend more than $35 billion each year on weight-loss products.
The FDA investigated 300 weight-loss ads from the radio, television, the Internet, magazines, newspapers, e-mail and direct mail. The FDA report concluded that some ads promised significant results without surgery, diet or exercise. Other companies claimed that taking their product would be enough for a quick weight loss. There was no need to eat less or diet. Just take pills.
Fraudulent schemes
The main frauds:
1. Manufacturers promise that their pills will deliver spectacular results, without any effort or exercise. Diet pills are presented as miracles. Just a few mention the FDA-approved diet pill.
2. They fail to admit completely and honestly the risks and side effects.
Many scams have been revealed so far. Here are a few examples:
* Bentley-Myers and three weight-loss products Zymax, MillinesES both containing ephedra, and Serotril containing St. Johns wort were brought under an intense spotlight when the FTC filed a federal court complaint. The FTC alleged that these diet pills caused rapid and substantial weight loss without diet or exercise and with no side effects. An additional charge referred to another dietary supplement, CartazyneDS, containing glucosamine. This was promoted as having the ingredients to cure arthritis and rebuild cartilage in just a few days.
* CortiSlim Lawsuit July 2004 Some CortiSlim TV commercials claimed that the human body is able to manage and normalize weight through Cortisol, the stress hormone. Charging the producer and distributor, public health officials argued that this supplement has no substantiated scientific support.
* Metabolife supplement and brain damages A jury in Houston awarded $7.4 million to a woman who suffered brain damage in a stroke, as a consequence of taking the Metabolife supplement to lose weight. She had been persuaded by commercials that this supplement was safe and had no side effects.
* Mendacious campaigns for the Ephedra-based supplement Trimspa An American hypnotist, Alex Szynalski, and a former Playboy Bunny Anna Nicole Smith joined in a Trimspa commercial which was considered "deceptive advertising" by the New Jersey Attorney General. The hypnotist was accused of luring consumers to his Goen Lose Weight Hypnosis seminars and then tempting them to buy the Trimspa supplements he produced.
* Kava Kava stop sales. Health Canada launched a public warning that this herb, found in supplements and sometimes in food is under suspicion. Its consumption was linked to liver disfunction and toxicity. FDA warned that the Kava extract is delivered under many other names which are difficult to find on the label kava, kava kava, kava-kava, kava root, kava-kava root, kavain, kava pepper, kavapipar, kawa, kawa kawa, kawa pepper, kawapfeffer, maori kava, rhizoma di kava-kava, ava, ava pepper, ava root, awa, gea, gi, intoxicating pepper, intoxicating long pepper, kao, Piper methysticum, Macropiper Latifolium, Piper inebrians, Malohu, maluk, meruk, milik, kew, Rauschpfeffer, sakau, tonga, Wurzelstock, yagona, yangona, yaqona, yongona.
* The invisible Zoller laboratories. Intrigued by the name of diet pills suggested to be taken by Britney Spears, somebody tried to identify the producer of Zantrex 3. Zoller laboratories, apparently producing Zantrex 3, were not listed in any database. They were just a firm created by Basic Research, the company distributing Zantrex 3, for fear that its real name would sound too scientific to the public. The confusion induced by this phantom company nevertheless affected the credibility of the company.
About The Author
Dana Scripca writes for http://www.dietpillscentral.com where you can find more information about Diet Pills.
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared. mailto: danascri@gmail.com
From Now On, Europe Focuses On Dieting Pills – Diet
From Now On, Europe Focuses On Dieting Pills
Dana Scripca
A state of emergency has been recently put on European Union agenda. In the next ten years, European countries will be "on diet". The EU countries have to manage an alarming situation: high rate of obesity and overweight. It seems that all Americas weight-loss problems along with diets and any kind of dieting pills crossed the Ocean.
European countries borrowed bad habits from Americans
Along with foods, Americans have brought the whole picture to the "Old continent": fad diets and related-weigh loss problems, dieting pills and dietary supplements. According to International Obesity Task Force, the prevalence of obesity has grown by up by 10 to 40 percent in most European countries from 1993 to 2003. It is an alarming statement. 30% of people living in the European Union are overweight and more than one in ten is now obese, according to EASO. Not surprisingly, a war against obesity has started recently. European officials are worried specifically about childhood obesity since children with "weight problems" are three to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or even stroke before the age of 65. Although this problem is not as urgent as the American issue, the forecasts are ruthless.
The battle against obesity
When overweight and obesity are on the agenda,
fast food and modern unhealthy eating habits too many sweets and refined foods
a sedentary lifestyle
are often quoted. Officials of the European Union are worried because obesity brings along related problems such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease. Unfortunately,70.000 cases are added each year, while heart disorders are already the leading cause of death in the European Union: half of all deaths are caused by heart disease.
Since the issue became so urgent, the EU was prompted to apply a "fight-plan" against obesity for the next ten years. Experts have decided in the recent European Congress of Obesity that the new fight-front should proceed on four major ways:
governments
NGOs
food industry
consumers themselves.
Additionally, two pathways can be involved in this effort:
television
computer industry.
They are to induce and educate nationwide a well-balanced eating regimen and promote physical activity and regular exercise schools included. A direct and sharp link to the new way of eating fast food, biscuits, high carbohydrate foods, fatty products hasnt been established precisely. It is argued though that giving up old healthy habits proved a significant overweight factor. Thus, obesity has been declared "public enemy number one" in the European Union.
Portugal case study
Anorectic teenagers and obese middle-aged people - this is happening nowadays only in Portugal. It is a strange situation, the least to say. Nearly two-fifths of all Portuguese of 18 to 65 are overweight and no less than 15 percent are already obese while over 8% of all 18 and 19 year olds are extremely thin twice than in the same age group in 1995. These facts were released in September 2004, after a study had been carried out and cited by Agency France-Presse.
What do these two statistics disclose
on one hand, the health of people of 18 to 65 active Portugaese is highly threatened by heart disease, stroke and diabetes
on the other hand, many teens of Portugal suffer from eating disorders it is argued that they have a repulsive reaction to obesity and they are obsessed with their look.
As the Portuguese have changed their eating habits lately, adding more sweets and fatty foods into their meals, the obesity range highly increased. A review of their eating habits reveals that many people go to work with no breakfast. Around ten o
Weight Loss Magic Pills – Diet
Weight Loss Magic Pills
HSF Vitamins
"While there are no real magic pills, shortcuts or hidden-secrets to dropping excess fat, Ive found that there are a few simple things you should remember that can help a lot."
While there are no real magic pills, shortcuts or hidden-secrets to dropping excess fat, Ive found that there are a few simple things you should remember that can help a lot.
Make the time to train, eat, and supplement properly. If this is a priority in your life, then treat it as one. Leave the excuses to someone else.
Use variation in all aspects of your program training, diet, and supplementation both to keep things fresh for you mentally and to prevent your body from adjusting and plateauing.
Set realistic long-term and short-term goals for yourself. Make them concrete by writing them down and reminding yourself of them daily.
Chart your course in detail. Its not enough to say I want to lose 20 lbs. in the next 12 weeks. You need to address what you need to do each month, each week, each day to help you get there.
Remember that on a very basic level dropping fat and staying healthy is a relatively simple proposition. It