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Quitting smoking and losing weight can be enormously challenging. In the quest to kick the habit or drop the pounds, you might be tempted by products promising miraculous results. But take a breath before you buy or try. Those ads could be exaggerations or outright lies that wind up costing you big.

Case in point: The FTC says Redwood, Inc. guaranteed consumers that its TBX-FREE smoking cessation and Eupepsia Thin weight-loss products worked better than others, and that clinical studies backed this claim. In Eupepsia Thin ads, actors (not actual, unpaid users) said they lost a substantial amount of weight using the product. What’s more, Redwood also allegedly enrolled consumers in an auto-pay program, debiting their cards every month without their knowledge or consent.

Looking past the hype is critical in making sure you’re not falling for false promises that will rob you blind. Whether you’re looking to stop smoking, lose weight, or do anything to improve your health, be skeptical about ads promising miraculous results. Most important, be sure to talk to a healthcare provider before you buy – or take – any product advertised with health claims.

To learn more about evaluating health product claims, visit the FTC’s health page. And if you’ve been taken in by false or misleading product claims, report it to the FTC.

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

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Mister Ed
October 24, 2018
To quit smoking is a real test of time and effort. Believing what can and will happen if you continue to use tobacco in any form had better wake you up. I know. I quit but a lot of my family and friends didn't. You can visit them almost any time you want. They don't move around any more!
ricoshea
October 24, 2018
I quit smoking 3 yrs ago .I had smoked for many yrs (over 50) When I quit I was going to try the patch I went to my pharmacy and they wanted $60.00 for a box of 60.I said no way am I going to pay that..I made up my mind and just quit cold turkey 2 days later I was smoking no more.I found out all you need to do is make your mind up.Be strong about it and think about taking care of you.I AM SAVING $240.00 PER MONTH plus saving my health.Don't beleave that what they sell you will cure you it won't.Wish you luck I was brought up to hear from my mom a lot, you can do it if you try!
spanky01
October 24, 2018
Thank you for this information. I think it is extremely important to get the word out about these deceiving products. I am sure almost everyone has been tempted to try these products. However, it is very important that one consult a doctor before trying any of these products. Thank you for your service.
JB615
October 24, 2018
Have been caught in the past.. " Try us for a month" then get stuck for auto re fills.. Health drugs...