Author Archive

Channeling Picasso for Oscillo Flu Relief Fraud?

January 11th, 2012. By AbiK

Picasso must be rolling in his grave at Château de Vauvenargues. That is, if he’s seen the latest round of homeopathic ‘remedy’, Oscillo, flu symptom relief ads. Yes, the same Oscillo that found itself on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit last August for fraudulent marketing—something about its being “nothing more than a sugar pill.”

Well, those Oscillo (or Oscillococcinum) marketers over at Boiron, which has its US headquarters not far out of Philly, must’ve taken a field trip when the Picasso exhibit was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art—and in a flash of creative genius someone said, “that Picasso right there…it’s the embodiment of the being…completely ensnared by flu…just feel the incoherence begging for clarity!” Ah yes, the germ of an ad campaign, right then and there. Just add water.

That’s the ad at left. You can see it has an illustration of a woman, clearly a bit discombobulated a’la Picasso, that’s meant to show how she’s suffering from flu symptoms. Woe is she, indeed.

But then, she takes homeopathic Oscillo and before you know it, everything is clear, a gentle breeze flows through her hair and she smiles as she takes in the great outdoors around her, lake and all.

There’s this little splotch of text, however, under the “after” picture. It reads,

“Time-accelerated dramatization.”

Hmm.

Are they for real? I hope someone (namely the art and copy team on this) had a good laugh. Sure it’s there as a legal disclaimer, but it’s a cartoon folks. I’m thinking we, as readers of the ad, would first have to believe that some parallel cartoon reality actually existed—like in Mary Poppins when they all hop into the sidewalk drawing—in order to expect cartoon-like results in our normal reality. Tracking with me?

But the American public is not that stupid.

Nor is it foolish when it comes to reading package labels. Here’s what the Oscillococcinum one has on its back (forgive the resolution):

Oscillo Package2 Channeling Picasso for Oscillo Flu Relief Fraud?

Active Ingredient: Anas Barbariae Hepatis et Cordis Extractum 200CK HPUS; Inactive ingredients: sucrose, lactose.

Now, if you whip out your Cassell’s Latin Dictionary, you’ll find that the active ingredient is extract of duck liver and heart. The 200CK means that its gone through a series of 200 dilutions—with each one equating a 1:100 dilution. If you do the math, the level of “active ingredient” would seem to get rather miniscule, leaving almost…nothing. (In fact, the court filing for the Oscillo class action states that, given the dilution, “At this purported ratio, the probability of getting 1 molecule of the active ingredient of Oscillo in a regular dosage is approximately equal to winning the Powerball every week for nearly an entire year.” Someone has a sense of humor!)

For those who missed basic nutrition class, the inactive ingredients, sucrose and lactose are sugars.

Nothing—or almost nothing—and sugar is, well, sugar. Which is the basis for the Oscillo false marketing class action lawsuit.

I suppose Boiron deserves some kudos for creativity—on both fronts, product development and advertising. But that’ll only go so far to “reduce the duration and severity of flu symptoms” including body aches, headache, fever, chills and fatigue. And exactly how far is what the class action will determine now.

Tags: Boiron, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, Homeopathic remedy, Homeopathy, homeopathy-remedy-fraud, Oscillo, Oscillococcinum
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 92895 Comments »2012-01-11+15%3A43%3A52AbiK

Public Citizen Slams Chamber of Commerce re Frivolous Lawsuits

January 9th, 2012. By AbiK

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform recently issued the results of its “Most Ridiculous Lawsuit of 2011″ poll. According to FacesofLawsuitAbuse.org, the list showcases “the most egregious examples of frivolous and abusive litigation from around the country”.

The list, however, is not compiled for the sake of humor. It’s compiled as part of the US Chamber of Commerce’s agenda to ultimately curtail consumers’ access to the courts—in order to alleviate the impact that ‘frivolous’ lawsuits have on “businesses, families, and everyday Americans through lost time, money and job growth.”

Sounds good, right? Until you take a look at the list—as Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Research Director, Taylor Lincoln did—and realize that it includes a bunch of lawsuits that never went anywhere and probably never stood a chance in hell of being taken seriously in the first place.

And, if you’re going to compile a list of “most egregious” lawsuits, then you really ought to be able to measure just how egregious they are—in terms of time and cost. But oddly, many of these lawsuits, as Lincoln points out, were dismissed or withdrawn. In fact, 80% of the lawsuits on the list were dismissed or withdrawn.

To be clear, many of the lawsuits were approaching the absurd. LawyersandSettlements.com certainly deemed a number of them so when we reported on them (see how we covered some of the lawsuits that made the list: 8 Questions for Quack who filed Chuck E. Cheese Gambling Lawsuit, Steven Miner, Kathryn Miner…Meet Lisa Steinberg, White Castle 290 lb Craver Files Lawsuit to Sit, Movie Madness: Lawsuit Says “Drive” didn’t Drive Enough).

But—and here’s the beef of the Public Citizen article—if you’re going to showcase lawsuits such as these and use them as the basis for your argument to handcuff the consumers’ right to seek justice, you need to come up with something better to base your argument on.

One-off lawsuits that are rapidly dismissed or withdrawn do not quite compare in impact with those of a larger scale that drag on for years (e.g., Bank of America lawsuits alone have probably cost this country more than any of us could fathom—and they continue because, for some reason, a slap on the wrist just doesn’t seem to deter recidivist fraudulent behavior.)

Indeed, as Lincoln then points out, the type of litigation that is clogging—or abusing—the courts and costing both businesses and “everyday Americans” is corporate fraud such as what we’ve seen with major banks and mortgage foreclosure practices.

And it’s time for the US Chamber of Commerce to take a look at that.

Tags: Access to Justice, Public Citizen, Right to Trial, Tort Reform, US Chamber of Commerce
Posted in Emerging Issues, lawsuits | 9315No Comments »2012-01-09+18%3A56%3A51AbiK

LAS Lookout: Fastin Weight Loss Ad – Read the Small Print

January 5th, 2012. By AbiK

Note to self: when a one-page ad in a magazine has 12 daggers—those are those “†” symbols that lead you to some teeny-tiny footnote disclaimer—pause to ponder what the ad is really telling you.

It’s important as now that we’re in flu season, we’re seeing more and more homeopathic ‘remedy’ ads popping up with questionable claims and the telling footnote or two.

The 12-dagger ad above is actually a recent ad for Fastin, “the world’s most advanced weight loss aid ever developed!†” (there’s that dagger!). The ad appeared in Self magazine. And yes, it has 12—no joke, twelve—daggers in it, all leading to the footnote below. Don’t believe it? They’re all circled on the actual ad above.

Just about everything but where to buy Fastin has a dagger leading you to the disclaimer (the disclaimer is reprinted below.

In fact, even the doctor’s statement has the disclaimer. And there’s another tip-off to something potentially askew: try to locate some quick background info on Dr. Mark Wright. You can’t. Oh sure, he has his own website, but try to find him on doctor rating sites like RealSelf.com, Vitals.com, Avvo.com, or HealthGrades.com. He’s not there. He’s also not showing up as

Tags: Dr. Mark Wright, false advertising, Fastin, Homeopathic remedy, Homeopathy, homeopathy-remedy-fraud, weight loss
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Drugs/Medical | 9275No Comments »2012-01-05+16%3A08%3A51AbiK

Off-the-Rack Gift Cards Newest Scam Target

December 23rd, 2011. By AbiK

Desperate for a holiday gift? No clue what they want? That’s when that strategically placed rack of gift cards in whatever store you’re in is like manna from heaven. It’s a plastic mall at your fingertips: Starbuck’s! Macy’s! Bed, Bath & Beyond!—even Cracker Barrel! The teacher, in-laws, crossing guard, and third cousin once removed? Gotcha covered.

Ah, but now there’s a gift card scam that’s going ’round and these gift card displays are the perfect target. Gift card scammers simply scan or copy the account number that’s visible on the backs of most gift cards. Then they put the card back on the rack and wait for someone to purchase it and, therefore, activate it. Once the card is activated, it’s currency. And that’s when the scammer goes online and shops a go-go.

Of course, most gift cards have a PIN number as well on the back of the card. But unless that PIN is hidden behind the packaging, it can be difficult to tell at first that the card has been tampered with. If the gift card PIN is only hidden by a scratch-off coating, all the scammer has to do is scratch it off—and how often have you picked up a gift card in a hurry and not really looked closely at the back of it?

Here’s how to avoid getting gift card scammed yourself:

1. Save the receipt. As with any purchase, your receipt is your proof of purchase (and proof of rightful owner). Most stores will replace the purchased balance of a lost or stolen gift card–but you need that receipt.

2. Look closely at the back of the gift card. If the card is in anyway damaged, or the PIN has been revealed, don’t buy it.

3. Go for e-certificates. Many retailers now offer the option online to purchase email gift certificates. Most will also offer you the option to either email the gift certificate directly to the recipient, or print it out to deliver in person.

Bottom line is remember: what’s convenient for you is probably also convenient for a scammer. Buyer beware. And happy holidays everyone!

Tags: Gift Card Scam, Gift Cards, Holiday Shopping
Posted in Consumer Fraud | 92402 Comments »2011-12-23+14%3A23%3A12AbiK

Hair Restoration Society Issues Statement on Propecia Sexual Dysfunction

December 16th, 2011. By AbiK

We were waiting for this one. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS)—yes, there is such an organization—issued a press release earlier this week to state its position on the claims of Propecia sexual dysfunction that have been swirling around.

The ISHRS aims to quell concerns over reported Propecia side effects—namely those regarding sexual dysfunction, loss of sexual interest, and claims of infertility—by stating that there have been “no evidence-based data substantiating the link between finasteride and persistent sexual side effects after discontinued use of the drug in numerous, double blinded, placebo controlled studies conducted evaluating the use of Propecia 1mg for hair loss.”

Additionally, the ISHRS states that anecdotal reports of adverse events (as in erectile dysfunction) “should not define the safety and effectiveness of this drug”. Such a statement is reminiscent of that line about a disease being “rare” until you’re the one affected by it. True, some random report from a guy on Propecia having sexual difficulties is not perhaps indicative of a large-scale problem or cause for alarm. Unfortunately, though, the anecdotal reports are more than just a few one-off’s, and they are a cause of concern for the men who report them.

Propecia Erectile Dysfunction AERS Reports

According to drugcite.com–a website that aggregates data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS), there have been 363 adverse events reported to the FDA for Finasteride (Propecia and Proscar). Of note, the most common reported Finasteride adverse event is erectile dysfunction.

The numbers seem low at first glance, but hair loss and sexual dysfunction don’t tend to be topics that anyone really wants to “come out” about and certainly not call attention to. And that raises the question of underreporting—could it be that due to the nature of the side effects not too many men really want to come forward and first, admit there is a problem to themselves, and then take it a step further and officially report it?

Given the upward trend of AERS reports from 2009 to 2011, one can only surmise that as more information regarding Propecia sexual side effects has hit the mainstream media—for example, the recent story in Men’s Health magazine—perhaps the stigma of talking about it has been reduced a bit (“see honey, it’s not me—it’s that hair loss drug I’ve been on…“).

Propecia, Sexual Dysfunction and the Middle-Aged Man?

Of note, the ISHRS release mentions that sexual dysfunction can be hard (no pun there) to assess—after all, there are numerous factors that can contribute to such problems: “nicotine, alcohol, prescription medications, stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression”. And, according the the release which quotes a 2006 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, incidence of erectile dysfunction in middle-aged or older men in the general population can be as high as 49%.

That make sense—except when you look at the anecdotal reports from Propecia users (some of which are on LawyersandSettlements.com) and see that the victims can be rather young—in their 20′s and 30′s, some even as young as 19. So not quite in that “middle-aged or older” group.

According to AmericanHairLoss.org, “Approximately twenty five percent of men who suffer with male pattern baldness begin the painful process before they reach the age of twenty-one.” The ISHRS itself states on its site that “Hair loss in men is likely to occur primarily between late teen-age years and age 40-50″—if so, it would appear that the statistic of E.D. occurring in potentially 49% of middle-aged or older men is somewhat irrelevant.

Anecdotal Propecia AERS Reports Lead to Task Force

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the ISHRS press release is the announcement that the organization has formed a task force to review the anecdotal reports of sexual dysfunction among certain Propecia users. While it’s certainly the responsible thing to do, it also somehow validates that there is growing concern over the drug’s potential for harmful side effects.

According to the release, the ISHRS has also reached out to “dermatologists, hair loss physicians, urologists, endocrinologists and sexual medicine specialists” to be a part of the task force and share their data and experiences with finasteride in a “fact-based manner”.

Undoubtedly there will be more to come—Propecia lawsuits included.

Tags: Finasteride, International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, ISHRS, Propecia, Propecia Lawsuit, Propecia Sexual Dysfunction, Proscar
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues, lawsuits, Personal Injury | 9211No Comments »2011-12-16+20%3A12%3A30AbiK