BBB National Programs Archive
Final Smoke Participates In ERSP Forum
New York, NY – August 25, 2009 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has determined that Final Smoke, Inc. provided reliable support for certain homeopathic claims for the company’s Final Smoke system. The marketer also has volunteered to modify or discontinue certain performance, safety and comparative claims. The marketer’s advertising came to ERSP’s attention pursuant to an anonymous challenge.
ERSP, the electronic direct-response industry’s self-regulatory forum, is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) with policy oversight by the National Advertising Review Council (NARC).
ERSP examined claims in broadcast and online advertising that included:
- “The Final Smoke Quit Spray will help reduce persistent cravings to smoke, detoxify your body and curb your appetite”
- “Most people feel the cravings for Nicotine disappear within the first 7 days”
- “The amazing doctor-formulated blend of all-natural ingredients in Final Smoke will safely provide your ‘Nicotine Receptor Cells’ with the same sensation provided by Nicotine while allowing your body to naturally cleanse itself of all Nicotine, without the withdrawal symptoms.”
- “Better than Patches, Gums & Drugs”/ “Don’t waste time with gums and patches.”
- “There is nothing that compares to Final Smoke…”
At the outset of the ERSP inquiry, the marketer volunteered to modify or discontinue certain performance, safety and comparative claims, including claims that the product delivers “immediate” relief, claims that indicate a majority of users will have a reduction of craving within “the first 7 days” of using the product, claims that product “Stops Physical and Mental Addiction” and “Beats Both Physical and Psychological Addictions, ” claims suggesting that Final Smoke is completely safe without any potential side-effects and claims that made specific comparison to “patches, gums and drugs.” Further, the company said it would modify its unqualified comparative claim “There is nothing that compares to Final Smoke… .”
As support for the remaining claims at issue, the marketer provided ERSP with information regarding Lobelia Inflata, the main ingredient in Final Smoke, which the marketer stated has long been recognized in homeopathic literature as a natural, homeopathic supplement to help people quit smoking. Following its review of the evidence, ERSP determined the marketer had provided a reasonable basis for the specific claim that “The Final Smoke Quit Spray will help reduce persistent cravings to smoke, detoxify your body and curb your appetite” and for other general statements that the Final Smoke System helps address nicotine cravings
The company, in its marketer’s statement, said that as a member of the “direct response community, Final Smoke Partners, LLC understands the importance of self- regulation and, as such, we welcome ERSP’s recommendations to revise our current advertising as well as our future advertising endeavors for Final Smoke.”