The Wizard Called Oz

You, during my life I have seen more false advertising on TV, on Radio, in Newspapers & Magazines and lots of other places. When I was a kid we had the Consumer Protection Agency that would take these people on, all in the interest of keeping us safe from so many scam artists. Yesterday a bunch of Senators went after Dr. Mehmet Oz for his ridicules claims about supplements providing incredible weight loss but they can’t do much more because supplements are not regulated by the FDA. So here’s the real question … why can’t the congress pass a law that requires a supplement to perform as advertised?

In a time of limited resources for many Americans, with so many seriously overweight and often fighting diabetes, why can’t the congress make it a crime to intentionally deceive the public? Billions of dollars are spent each year on these phony weight loss “miracles”, yet every single one comes out to be simple fraud intended to fleece you out of your hard earned money. The old adage “let the buyer beware” was good advice years ago, but with today’s slick advertisements, use of special effects to make it appear people really ARE losing all that weight, that is a kind of false advertising that nobody can seriously dispute.

If these Senators can try to create a public spectacle grilling this man, why can’t they work just as hard to get a law on the books that will simply require each product submit itself for scrutiny to the FDA. Even if we don’t stop them from selling it, letting the FDA review and make a recommendation in writing to the public would give us that much more information to consider before betting on a long shot.

And for Dr. Oz, well he comes out and promotes many of these scams with little to no scientific research to prove the point so should we make this law apply to ANYONE that promotes a product they know nothing about? Now I know what you are thinking; just consider all the celebrities that will lose their shirt because they can no longer promote reverse mortgages, new loans, better wrinkle creams (poor Phyllis Diller!) or any of the other crap that is shoved down our throats 24 hours a day on the TV. Oh yes, like I have told my own kids, YOU have the power, just turn the damn thing off …. But really, as hooked as we all are to that one eyed monster, shouldn't there be some kind of protection for us air heads?

I am all for the free market system, competition, and the concept of a capitalist system; all I ask is to make it a fair one for all of us. If we make the advertisers directly responsible for the goods and services they promote, you can bet we will get a much better quality product for the American people, and after all, isn't that all we really want?