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CNN Live At Daybreak

Internet Snake Oil: FTC Promotes Operation Cure.All

Aired June 14, 2001 - 08:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it appears snake oil salesmen have moved from the back roads of the Old West to the information superhighway of the new millennium. But the government is watching and it is taking action. In about two hours, the Federal Trade Commission tells us about Operation Cure.All and efforts to stop fraudulent marketing of health products on the World Wide Web.

But right now, CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with some tips on how you can protect yourself.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There are some things you can do, because millions of Americans go online every year looking for health advice.

And here's the warning from the Federal Trade Commission: Be careful. The agency says it's found plenty of Web sites that just want your money and prey on, as they put it, the sickest and most vulnerable consumers.

Since 1997, the agency has tried to shut down some of these sites. In the past, the FTC went after a Web site that said their supplement made out of beef tallow could cure cancer. The agency also targeted a site that touted shark cartilage as a treatment for cancer and AIDS.

Yet another site sold magnets as a treatment for cancer and liver disease. Now, the FTC fully admits that there's no way it can catch every unscrupulous health site on the Internet, so the buyer has to be aware. And the agency has some suggestions for how to do that.

First of all, be suspicious of sites that use terms like "miraculous cure," "scientific breakthrough," or that use confusing medical terms to sound impressive, or they claim a conspiracy from the government or the medical establishment is trying to suppress their products.

MCEDWARDS: All right, so when the FTC actually goes after and targets a site, then what happens?

COHEN: Well, what they do usually is they start by sending an e- mail and just saying to the site, "You know what? These are bad products and you need to get off the Internet.?

And, actually, much of the time, they do. When they don't, the FTC then sends them further communication that says that they might take more action. And then if they still don't take it off, then they have to have some kind of a settlement with them.

Now, usually, that does it. And the settlement is all they need. Sometimes they actually have to take the people who manage the Web site to court.

MCEDWARDS: And then how do investigators figure out what's a bogus claim, what's a legitimate one?

COHEN: Right, exactly, because they're all legitimate claims out there, obviously.

MCEDWARDS: Sure.

COHEN: What they do is, they look at the medical evidence. They look at the actual studies. And if there are studies that show that this or that supplement actually can prevent or treat a disease of disorder, then they'll let it stay. But if the studies are weak or if there aren't any studies, that's when they go after them.

MCEDWARDS: All right, got you, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.

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