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Airborne Pays Up
posted 1:50 pm Tue March 04, 2008 -
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The maker of Airborne has agreed to pay millions of dollars to consumers, after allegations, that the product is not as advertised.
Many people swear by the herbal health formula, Airborne, but the Center for Science in the Public Interest disagrees and joined a class action lawsuit accusing Airborne of false advertising.
"The thing that bothers us about Airborne is that it doesn't work," said Steve Gardner with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. An Airborne ad testimonial called it a "miracle cold buster" and a company press release boasted it would:
"Get rid of most colds in one hour."
Airborne CEO Elise Donohue said it's product supports your immune system and offered the following evidence, "We have a clinical study. A double-blind placebo-controlled study."
When reporters went to the Florida address of the company that conducted the study, a woman answered the door and to the response of "Do you conduct clinical trials here," she said, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me."
Turns out the study was a two man operation started up just to do the Airborne study. One of the men claimed to have a degree from Indiana University, but the school said he never graduated.
Airborne says it settled to avoid further distraction and left a recording for customers saying:
"Defendants deny any wrongdoing or illegal conduct but have agreed to settle the litigation."
Airborne is not finished answering questions. The Federal Trade Commission and several states are now investigating whether to punish the company further.
Dietary supplements like Airborne don't have to prove to the government that they work as long as they don't make specific claims. Airborne now uses much blander language.
"The thing that bothers us about Airborne is that it doesn't work," said Steve Gardner with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. An Airborne ad testimonial called it a "miracle cold buster" and a company press release boasted it would:
"Get rid of most colds in one hour."
Airborne CEO Elise Donohue said it's product supports your immune system and offered the following evidence, "We have a clinical study. A double-blind placebo-controlled study."When reporters went to the Florida address of the company that conducted the study, a woman answered the door and to the response of "Do you conduct clinical trials here," she said, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me."
Turns out the study was a two man operation started up just to do the Airborne study. One of the men claimed to have a degree from Indiana University, but the school said he never graduated.
Airborne says it settled to avoid further distraction and left a recording for customers saying:
"Defendants deny any wrongdoing or illegal conduct but have agreed to settle the litigation."
Airborne is not finished answering questions. The Federal Trade Commission and several states are now investigating whether to punish the company further.
Dietary supplements like Airborne don't have to prove to the government that they work as long as they don't make specific claims. Airborne now uses much blander language.
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