UK uses fat-sucking foot pads to reach gullible slimmers
February 22, 2009
By Michelle Fay Cortez
Negative-calorie chocolate, which burns rather than builds fat, and cellulite-sucking foot pads are being used in a new British government campaign to warn consumers about fake weight-loss claims.
The Office of Fair Trading will unveil two websites, and drive traffic to them with banner advertising and sponsored links on search engines, to lure people keen on short cuts to slimming down or boosting their health. When they try to buy the miracle products, consumers will be sent to a page that exposes the spoof and explains the risk of similar scams.
An estimated 200 000 Britons are duped each year by such frauds, at a cost of about £20 million (R289 million), according to the government agency. The concept, which stems from a similar initiative dubbed Big Fat Lie in the US, will lure potential victims to the websites, where they can learn about the risks of supposed medical breakthroughs, officials say.
"Miracle health scams target vulnerable people who are desperate to lose weight or find a cure" for their medical condition, says Mike Haley, the office's director of consumer protection. "The products are often worthless and can even be dangerous with untested and potentially harmful ingredients."
One of the government's websites promotes Fatfoe pads, claiming they drain fat and cellulite out through the bottom of the feet while consumers sleep.
The other is for Glucobate, an all-natural diabetes product with the "healing aromatics of muskmelon".
Diabetes UK, a public health group, and Sense About Science, an independent trust that focuses on scientific misrepresentation, are helping to support the programme.
It warns consumers against trusting medical "breakthroughs" without the advice of their doctors, accepting unlikely success stories and believing money-back guarantees.
"Companies offering fake supplements often play on the most vulnerable members of society," says Zoe Harrison, an adviser for Diabetes UK. "In the vast majority of cases there is no evidence to suggest the medication is safe for people with diabetes to take, let alone help them manage their condition."
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