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Infomercial Doc Agrees to
Stifle SNORenz Claims

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2002 -- Dr. Robert M. Currier, who appeared in infomercials for a purported anti-snoring product called SNORenz, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he made unsubstantiated claims about the product.

SNORenz is a dietary supplement consisting of oils and vitamins that snorers spray on the back of their throat. The FTC alleges that Dr. Currier made numerous false or unsubstantiated statements implying that he conducted a study that proved that SNORenz is an effective treatment for snoring, and that SNORenz reduces the symptoms of sleep apnea - a potentially life-threatening breathing disorder.

The proposed consent agreement requires Dr. Currier to have competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate any claims that SNORenz or any other food, drug, or dietary supplement reduces or eliminates snoring, or that the product eliminates, reduces, or mitigates the symptoms of sleep apnea. The proposed consent agreement also requires him to evaluate substantiation for efficacy claims whenever he appears as an expert endorser.

Dr. Currier is a doctor of osteopathic medicine with a specialty in eye surgery and disease of the eye. He appeared in the same infomercials that were the subject of two previously approved FTC consent orders involving Med Gen, Inc., (the manufacturer of SNORenz) and Tru-Vantage International, LLC (the producer of SNORenz infomercials).

Specifically, the FTC's complaint charges that Dr. Currier failed to have a reasonable basis for claims he made about the efficacy of SNORenz in significantly reducing or eliminating snoring, reducing or eliminating snoring for six to eight hours, and treating the symptoms of sleep apnea.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Dr. Currier falsely represented that clinical research proved the efficacy of SNORenz. The complaint further alleges that he failed to disclose that the product is not intended to treat sleep apnea and that persons experiencing sleep apnea should seek medical attention. Finally, the complaint alleges that Dr. Currier made claims as an expert endorser about the efficacy of SNORenz without disclosing his material connection to Med Gen, and without exercising his purported expertise to determine the accuracy of these claims.

The proposed settlement allows Dr. Currier to make representations specifically permitted in the labeling for any product regulated by the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Nutrition Labeling & Education Act of 1990.

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