Cellulite Remedy Bogus, FTC Claims in Lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission contends a Florida company misleads consumers by telling them that one of the firm’s dietary supplements can rid people of fatty deposits known as cellulite.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the FTC said Rexall Sundown Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., makes false and unsubstantiated claims to market its Cellasene supplement. The company denies the allegations.

Unlike most cellulite remedies, which are applied to the skin, Rexall’s product is a pill containing ginkgo biloba, grape seed extract and other herbal ingredients.

The recommended eight-week regimen of the supplement costs $180 to $240, the FTC said. The government said sales totaled about $54 million last year.

Cellasene has been advertised in major newspapers as well as on the Internet and in fashion magazines, on television and radio.

By law, dietary supplements cannot promise to treat or prevent disease directly. The FTC, which oversees truth in advertising, has the authority to take action against companies that cannot back up their claims.

Cellulite is a series of irregular pockets of fat that cause the area around the hips and thighs to appear dimpled.

The FTC said Rexall, which claims Cellasene “fights cellulite from the inside,” had no clinical evidence establishing the pill’s effectiveness. The FTC wants a permanent injunction to prohibit Rexall from making the claims. It also wants a judge to order that Rexall refund Cellasene’s purchase price to consumers, said Darren Bowie, assistant director of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices.

Rexall said Thursday it will “vigorously defend the truthfulness of its claims” for Cellasene.

“The commission’s action completely ignores the sound scientific research into the effectiveness of Cellasene,” Debbie DeSantis, Rexall’s senior vice president of product development, said in a statement. “We stand strongly behind the product and its value to our customers.”