FTC: No support for diabetes treatment claims

People spend billions of dollars a year on health products that are unproven and often useless. Case in point: The FTC has sued the sellers of “Nobetes” about their advertising claims for a pill that would supposedly treat diabetes — and maybe even replace the need for prescription diabetes medication, like insulin. According to the FTC, these claims were false or misleading, and the sellers had no reliable, scientific evidence to back them up.

As part of a proposed settlement, the sellers (the Nobetes Corporation and two of its officers) will be banned from selling Nobetes and other diabetes products and will pay $182,000.

Are you — or someone you know — thinking about using a non-prescription product to treat diabetes?

• Be skeptical about amazing health claims. According to the American Diabetes Association, there is no clear proof that any dietary supplement — such as a vitamin or a pill with herbs or minerals — will treat diabetes and high blood sugar.
• These supplements can be dangerous if they cause people to delay or stop effective, proven treatments for diabetes.
• If you’ve been using Nobetes to treat your diabetes, contact your health care provider as soon as possible.
• If you’re tempted to use a non-prescription product to treat diabetes or high blood sugar, or any other serious health condition, the FTC says to talk with your health care provider first.

To learn more, check out our Dietary Supplement Ads infographic and video, and visit FTC.gov/dietarysupplement. And please let the FTC know about any health product you believe is falsely advertised.