The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and the Center for Inquiry (CFI) have released this statement concerning Wal-Mart's sale of Boiron Oscillococcinum to treat the flu. I have omitted footnotes and signatories to the letter; they are included in full here.
We are deeply concerned about Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.‘s (“Wal-Mart’s”) irresponsible marketing and promotion of Boiron Oscillococcinum, an ineffective homeopathic “flu medicine,” through its website, www.walmart.com . Wal-Mart’s website states that the product, manufactured by Boiron, is to be used “for flu-like symptoms.” The website further states that the product’s alleged active ingredient, Anas Barbariae Hepatis Et Cordis Extractum 200CK Hpus, is used “to Reduce The Duration and Severity of Flu Symptoms.” The website also features an image of the product’s package, which indicates that the product “Reduces [the] Duration and Severity of Flu Symptoms,” including “Fever, Chills, Body Aches and Pains.”
Wal-Mart’s misleading promotion of this “homeopathic medicine” as a treatment for flu is not limited to the webpage on which the product is displayed. Consumers will reach this page only after visiting Wal-Mart’s “Medicine Cabinet” page, which assures customers that the products Wal-Mart carries will “fight colds and the flu.” From there, website visitors will navigate to the “Cough, Colds & Flu Wellness Shop” page, which promises to help the customer “Stay on top of cold and flu season by learning about products that can help you and your family stay well, relieve symptoms and recover fast.” In its “Cough, Cold, and Flu Buying Guide,” Wal-Mart asserts that its products will provide the customer “with everything you and your family need for battling a cold or the flu.”
In short, Wal-Mart’s entire website is replete with assurances that the products Wal-Mart offers as flu remedies are, in fact, effective for preventing and treating the flu. People are buying Boiron Oscillococcinum based on these assurances.
Wal-Mart’s assurances regarding Boiron Oscillococcinum, however, are false and irresponsible. Boiron Oscillococcinum is ineffective against the flu and flu symptoms. Homeopathic oscillococcinum solutions were first produced in the early 20th century on the mistaken assumption that they contained “oscillococci,” microscopic bacteria that proved to be imaginary. The allegedly active ingredient of Boiron’s Oscillococcinum consists of mere liquefied duck liver and duck heart, substances that were thought to contain the nonexistent bacteria. Moreover, manufacturing a “200 CK” homeopathic preparation requires repeatedly diluting the “active ingredient” in water until the odds that the solution contains even a single molecule of it are effectively zero.
There is no credible scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of Boiron Oscillococcinum’s “200CK” homeopathic preparation beyond what is expected from the placebo effect. The premise upon which the effectiveness of this “homeopathic medicine” is founded—that highly diluted preparations of substances that cause symptoms in healthy individuals will reduce similar symptoms in patients—has no basis in reality and has been disproved repeatedly.
This statement should not be interpreted as offering a legal opinion. By marketing Boiron Oscillococcinum through its website, however, Wal-Mart may be in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FFDCA”) and the regulations it implemented. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have issued warning letters to other marketers of Boiron Oscillococcinum stating that online marketing of the product for the treatment of flu symptoms violates the FFDCA.
Regardless of whether Wal-Mart is violating the law, its marketing of this product is a profound disservice to the public. Influenza is a serious illness. It can lead to complications resulting in hospitalization or even death, especially among the elderly, the very young, and individuals with certain health conditions. It is imperative that consumers not be led to believe that effective preventive and therapeutic measures can be ignored in favor of something that amounts to “snake oil.” A product that is useless is a product that is harmful.
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry wrote to Wal-Mart in November 2010 regarding its inaccurate and misleading marketing of Boiron Oscillococcinum. To date Wal-Mart has neither issued a response to nor acknowledged receipt of CSI and CFI’s letter. Because Wal-Mart has misled consumers about the product’s effectiveness and ignored private pleadings to correct the situation, we are compelled to speak out publicly against Wal-Mart’s irresponsibility.
We urge Wal-Mart to cease marketing this ineffective product immediately. Although we recognize that doing so might not serve Wal-Mart’s financial interest, we hope Wal-Mart will act appropriately out of a sense of ethical obligation. The cooperation of good corporate citizens is indispensable if public consumers are to rely on the claims of health-remedy producers and the companies that market their products.
The FDA sent this warning letter last year to some manufacturers of products sold to combat symptoms or effects of the H1N1 virus. Note the mention of "Boiron Oscillococcinum." Here is a sample Wal-Mart ad. Here is a link to a manufacturer's website, with discussion of the benefits of homeopathic drugs. Note that the discussion includes FDA regulation, with a footnote suggesting a link to the relevant CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) cite, but the link takes one to more advertising, not to the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations). The website folks might want to fix the link; the cite given no longer works, but here's one to try.
The FDA regulates homeopathic drugs like OTC (over the counter drugs). Here is a link to attorney Paul J. Wisniewski's description of the homeopathic drug regulation regime.
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