AG, Bayer Settle Over Cancer Risk Claim
CHICAGO (STMW) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined state attorneys general in California and Oregon Tuesday to announce a $3.3 million dollar settlement with Bayer Healthcare over the company's alleged misleading claims that its One A Day Men's multivitamins reduced the risk of prostate cancer.
Madigan filed a complaint and subsequent settlement in Cook County Circuit Court alleging Bayer violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act by deceptively claiming its One A Day Men's multivitamins reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. The complaint alleges Bayer made these promotional claims even though the company knew or should have known its multivitamins do not decrease the risk of this cancer, and that high doses of some ingredients in the vitamins may actually increase the risk of prostate cancer in some men, a release from Madigan's office said.
"Consumers rely on statements made by multivitamin manufacturers when making choices about their health," Madigan said. "When manufacturers, like Bayer, make marketing claims with insufficient scientific proof behind them, they are misleading consumers. This lawsuit ensures that Bayer must back up its advertising pitches with reliable scientific evidence."
Bayer's "Strike Out Prostate Cancer" campaign, in which the company partnered with Major League Baseball to promote the One a Day Men's products, is highlighted in the complaint as an example of the allegedly deceptive marketing claims. In that campaign, Bayer used billboards, print and broadcast advertisements, and testimonials from professional baseball players to make implied claims that One A Day Men's Products reduced the risk of prostate cancer.
Under the terms of the settlement, Bayer is prohibited from marketing its One a Day Men's products as preventing prostate cancer, or any other disease, unless the claims are based on competent and reliable scientific evidence.
If Bayer makes a representation regarding the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, the company must continue to monitor the claim to ensure it remains accurate and make changes to its promotion and packaging within a reasonable time if necessary, the release said.
Under the settlement, the State of Illinois will receive more than $1 million to fund consumer protection work, including consumer education and enforcement of the consumer fraud laws.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
