Via: The Lede – New York Times Blog
By Mike Nizza
INSERT DESCRIPTION“C-Cell 4 Destroyer,” a combination of herbs that purports to be “the strongest defense against cancer,” a marketing claim disputed by the Food and Drug Administration.With ingredients like bloodroot, shark cartilage and Cat’s Claw and assertions like “causes cancer cells to commit suicide,” it’s no wonder the Food and Drug Administration is taking notice.
On Tuesday, the agency warned 23 American companies and 2 foreign ones to stop claiming to prevent or cure cancer with their various “tablets, teas, tonics, black salves, and creams.”
Here are a few of the claims the agency cited:
– “Treats all forms of cancer”
— “80 percent more effective than the world’s number one cancer drug”
— “Skin cancers disappear”
— “Target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone”
— “Shrinks malignant tumors”
— “Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments”All told, 125 products were identified on the agency’s web site, www.fda.gov. Legal notices were sent to the companies urging prompt corrective action, which were also posted on the Web.