The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission released an alert to the public “to be wary of Internet sites and other promotions for products that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.” The agencies are also “advising operators of offending web sites that they must take prompt action to correct and/or remove promotions of these fraudulent products or face enforcement action.” Michael Chappell, acting FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, said, “Consumers who purchase products to treat the novel 2009 H1N1 virus that are not approved, cleared or authorized by the FDA for the treatment or prevention of influenza risk their health and the health of their families. In conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission, the FDA has developed an aggressive strategy to identify, investigate, and take regulatory or criminal action against individuals or businesses that wrongfully promote purported 2009 H1N1 influenza products in an attempt to take advantage of the current flu public health emergency.”  FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz commented, “The last thing any consumer needs right now is to be conned by someone selling fraudulent flu remedies. The FTC will act swiftly against companies that resort to deceptive advertising.”

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02007.html