NAD Recommends Removyl Discontinue Advertising Claims For ‘Removyl Advanced Formula’ Dietary Supplement

New York, NY – July 7, 2009 – The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Removyl Corporation Ltd., discontinue weight-loss claims in advertising for the Removyl Advanced Formula dietary supplement products.

As a part of its ongoing monitoring program and in conjunction with NAD’s initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition, NAD inquired about certain print advertisements disseminated by Removyl. The print and Internet advertising included the following weight-loss related claims:

• “Recent studies have shown that the combination of 13 known essential oils prevents fat from building in the body by stimulating the body to break it down and eliminate it on a daily basis. This combination of essential oils has become what may be the fastest and most efficient way to lose weight that has ever been observed with an entirely natural product.”
• “These are the essential oils that are going to make you slim”
• “Some women have already lost up to 22 pounds in one week.”
• “It is possible to lose up to 2 pounds per day in the first three weeks, without any effort.”
• “You are going to notice that your weight will have dropped by almost one pound in as little as 8 hours.”
• “Whether you would like to lose 10, 20, 30 or even 40 pounds or more with this revolutionary weight-loss plan, you going to definitely achieve your ideal weight, a figure you can be proud of and a new zest for life.”
• “This combination of essential oils has become what may be the fastest and most efficient way to lose weight that has ever been observed with an entirely natural product.” 
• “All this can be achieved WITHOUT willpower, WITHOUT any strict diet, WITHOUT strenuous exercise.”
• “I lost 11 pounds in less that a week without changing my eating habits and without strict diets”

In response to NAD’s opening letter, Removyl informed NAD that it has suspended all advertising purchases for Removyl Advanced Formula, and that no further advertising would be booked in the future until the NAD review was complete.

According to the advertiser, the product’s efficacy is based on ingredients that are purgative and diuretic in nature, designed to eliminate retained water, and green tea extract. NAD noted in its decision that it has previously reviewed advertising for several green tea products marketed and sold as weight-loss products.

In this case, NAD noted, the advertiser relied solely on studies on green tea extracts, not on the advertised product Removyl, to support its advertising claims. However, NAD determined that none of the cited green tea studies support the specific weight-loss claims being made.

NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue all weight-loss claims that state that the consumer will (or can) lose these specific amounts of weight, as well as claims consumers can lose weight without diet and exercise.

Further, NAD determined that there was insufficient evidence in the record to support rapid weight-loss claims. While there was limited evidence that certain ingredients in Removyl are recognized as possessing diuretic and laxative properties, there was no evidence that the amounts of these ingredients contained in Removyl would have such effects, and none of the evidence rose to the level that would support specific fast weight-loss claims. NAD recommended that claims suggesting rapid weight loss be discontinued.

NAD recommended that any future advertising be clearly limited to claims for the ingredients, i.e., the benefits of green tea, and the diuretic and purgative properties of certain of the botanicals in Removyl.

The company, in its advertiser’s statement, said it has not offered the product for sale since April, although it has shipped remaining orders.