New York, NY – Jan. 28, 2016 – The National Advertising Division has referred advertising claims made by Nature Works Best Cancer Clinic to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the advertiser declined to participate in the NAD process.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Nature Works Best Cancer Clinic advertises alternative cancer treatments at its website. NAD, which monitors national advertising in all media, requested substantiation for claims that included:

• “Better results than any other cancer clinic over the last 8 years”
• “Most cancer patients who complete our treatment go into remission”
• “Our treatments have proved to be an effective alternative to traditional chemotherapy and radiation”
• “Intravenous Nutrient Treatments, a proven alternative to chemo and radiation”
• “Research has confirmed that Vitamin C in high concentration kills cancer cells while leaving normal tissue unharmed”
• “80% of patients who complete our treatments alone go into remission, 85% of patients who complete our treatments and follow our food plan go into remission; 93% of patients in Stage I through early Stage 4 who do all of our protocols have gone into remission”
• “Our cancer treatments are extremely effective at successfully fighting cancer”
• “Patients who follow our treatments start feeling better and their energy comes back”
• “No other clinic, of any kind, has such a high documented success rate.”
• “Best documented success rates in the world”
• “Beat cancer”
• “Your best opportunity to fight cancer – and this goes for all cancer patients – is to begin the natural treatments before the conventional treatments (chemo, radiation, etc.) sicken and weaken you and ultimately strengthen your cancer.”

NAD also requested substantiation for the implied claims that:

• Vitamin C or other vitamin/nutrient infusions will help cure a patient’s cancer.
• Decreasing or eliminating sugar intake from one’s diet can cure cancer.
• Naturopathic treatment is more effective than traditional cancer treatment.

NAD noted in its decision that the advertiser’s challenged claims promise cancer patients that they may become healthy, strong cancer survivors in remission if they engage in a course of alternative cancer treatment that includes intravenous vitamin therapy and dietary changes.  NAD was concerned that the claims give consumers a reason to believe that the claimed benefits have been proven by rigorous and reliable scientific study.

NAD further noted that, given that the claims address serious health issues and their potential impact, it was disappointed that the advertiser declined to participate. In light of the advertiser’s failure to submit a substantive response, NAD has referred the claims  to the FTC and FDA for further review.

Note: A recommendation by NAD to modify or discontinue a claim is not a finding of wrongdoing and an advertiser’s voluntary discontinuance or modification of claims should not be construed as an admission of impropriety. It is the policy of NAD not to endorse any company, product, or service. Decisions finding that advertising claims have been substantiated should not be construed as endorsements.