FDA Consumer Update - HCG Diet Products Are Illegal

Bout time.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Perhaps now we can focus on fitness here and put a kaibosh on hcg threads here?

Perhaps now we can focus on fitness here and put a kaibosh on hcg threads here?

Wouldn't that be nice?!

Wonder what will happen to the HCG group. I guess they will have to try to do this the hard way, like the rest of us!

Bout time.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

^^This.

"The FDA is warning consumers that over the counter HCG products marketed as weight loss aids are unproven and illegal. Many HCG products are marketed to be taken in connection with a very low calorie diet -- it's the decrease in calories that accounts for any weight loss. There are currently no FDA-approved HCG products designed to help you lose weight. FDA and the Federal Trade Commission have jointly issued warning letters to companies illegally marketing over-the-counter HCG products labeled for weight loss."

Source: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm282465.htm


It's the decrease in calories accounts for weight loss, hmm? :noway: Haha... good to know :grumble:

I have written several emails to the FDA in the past few years about this issue, but at the time, they seemed to consider it a low priority.

Thankfully, they have finally taken notice and are doing something about it!

FINALLY!

Listen to the podcast

Time to stock up on pregnant lady piss and sell it on the black market!

Good call, bro. Running to the stores now.

Soon to be replaced by drops of "old man pee". Taking orders now. :-P

:sick: :sick: :sick: :sick:

I was desperate enough to purchase the HCG drops a few months ago. When I started reading the instructions on how few calories you could have in a day it hit me that the drops probably had NOTHING to do with the weightloss. Anybody eating 500 calories a day would lose weight I was thinking! I tried the drops one time for one day, and I quickly gave up on that. Hearing this, I'm glad I didn't use them!

chistoso!!! jajaja. thats funny

It's funny that it took the FDA to step in for dummies to realize what they were doing is not good.

It's call educate yourself people. I also don't really give a rats azz if "a doctor gave it to me". 99% of Dr. no less about nutrition then most people that read about it for a day. There's a bunch of clinics up here in Ontario (might even be all of Canada) called Dr. Bernstein Diet & Health Clinics..."supervised by D", and it's basically the same thing. 500-800 cal diet and you have to go in for B12 injections, and discourage exercise. They charge like $500/mth for this and I know a couple of dummies that went for 3-4 months, loss weight, ranout of money, and now they are heavier than ever.

..........or are they stating the "claims are illegal"? I think if that is considered illegal (which it probably should)...again where would most of the market be?

Is the FDA just saying the item isn't FDA Approved? I hope the article isn't suggesting just because HCG and HCG promoted substances are not FDA Approved, they are now considered illegal. In that case, most of the supplement driven weight loss market will probably be "iced". From my perspective.

Check the link: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm

The diet has become popular again and FDA and FTC are taking action on illegal HCG products. “You cannot sell products claiming to contain HCG as an OTC drug product. It’s illegal,” says Brad Pace, team leader and regulatory counsel at FDA’s Health Fraud and Consumer Outreach Branch. “If these companies don’t heed our warnings, they could face enforcement actions, legal penalties or criminal prosecution.”

Elisabeth Walther, a pharmacist at FDA, explains that the agency does not evaluate homeopathic drug products for safety or effectiveness, and is not aware of any scientific evidence that supports homeopathy as effective. However, those that meet certain conditions set by FDA can be marketed. A reference document called the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States lists active ingredients that may be legally included in homeopathic drug products.

“HCG is not on this list and therefore cannot be legally sold as a homeopathic medication for any purpose,” Walther says.

FDA advises consumers who have purchased homeopathic HCG for weight loss to stop using it, throw it out, and stop following the dieting instructions.

I know we have many Pro-HCG'ers here on MFP. And I know there are some that have found success in this program. But please, PLEASE read this information with an open mind. It's for your safety that this action is being taken. Please rethink your diet of choice, and find something else that you can stick to that will be equally successful.

Many MFP'rs are successful just by logging on, recording their food and exercise, and sticking with that. Others are using programs with more structure, such as Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, or in my case, The 17 Day Diet. These are all different programs and not one program is for EVERYONE, but you CAN find success with a legitimate program that is NOT harmful to you!

http://news.yahoo.com/feds-crack-down-homeopathic-weight-loss-remedy-155001085.html

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are ordering several companies to stop selling an unproven weight loss remedy that uses protein from the human placenta.

The Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to seven companies that sell the protein as drops, pellets or sprays. Human chorionic gonadotropin is produced by the placenta and found in the urine of pregnant women. While it is approved for certain infertility treatments, the FDA says there is no evidence it helps reduce weight.

Many of the products cited in the warning letters claim to change "abnormal eating patterns," and help people lose 20 to 30 pounds in as little as a month when used with a low-calorie diet, usually around 500 calories per day.

Health experts say such restrictive diets can be dangerous.

"These products are marketed with incredible claims and people think that if they're losing weight, HCG must be working," said Elizabeth Miller, of FDA's division for non-prescription drugs and health fraud, in a statement. "But the data simply does not support this — any loss is from severe calorie restriction. Not from the HCG."

The products are advertised as homeopathic remedies, or highly diluted drugs made from natural ingredients and sold with medical claims. Many doctors view homeopathic remedies as ineffective but mostly harmless because the drugs in them are present in such tiny amounts.

But the FDA said the products targeted Tuesday could be dangerous when taken as directed.

Homeopathic treatments are based on principles unverified by mainstream science, and often reference mystical-sounding concepts like "vital force" and "healing energy."

In 1938, Congress passed a law granting homeopathic remedies the same legal status as regular pharmaceuticals. The law's principal author was Sen. Royal Copeland of New York, a trained homeopath.

While regulation of the products is minimal, the FDA maintains a list of approved ingredients that can be used for homeopathic drugs. HCG is not among the approved ingredients.

After decades of declining use, homeopathic remedies have revived in recent decades with the burst of interest in vitamins, herbs and other unconventional treatments.

The companies cited by regulators have 15 days to respond and detail how they intend to remove their products from the market. Failure to do so may result in legal action, including seizure and injunction, or criminal prosecution."


:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Ice

The only purpose for which doctors are allowed to prescribe HCG is fertility treatment, to trigger ovulation. Any doctors that presribe HCG for weight loss purposes should be reported to the applicable college of physicians and possibly the FDA.

I could be wrong, but I think the law only prohibits the drug company from "marketing" for indications where there is no evidence to support drug efficacy. Even with a black box warning, I think doctors are still legally allowed to prescribe things "off-label." Pretty much, if it isnt on the Controlled Substances list, the doctor can prescribe it for whatever...

Dammit why am I in the IP legal dept!?!?! Where are my RA peeps?