ONE-A-DAY MEN'S MULTIVITAMIN CLASS ACTION UPDATE: On January 13, 2010, our law firm filed a One-A-Day Men's Vitamins Class Action Complaint against Bayer Corporation and Bayer Healthcare LLC in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (Spartanburg Division). You can read a complete copy of the One-A-Day Multivitamins class action complaint by clicking here.
If you purchased and used "One A Day" multivitamins for men to reduce the risk of prostate cancer anytime between May, 2003 - June, 2009, you may be entitled to compensation. Please click here to contact our office by completing the One-A-Day Client Questionnaire; and calling before the deadline toll-free: 888-350-3931.
This notice applies to all residents of Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin. If you live in one of these states, you may be eligible for compensation if you purchased and used "One A Day" multivitamins for men to reduce the risk of prostate cancer anytime between May, 2003 - June, 2009.
Please click here to contact our law firm immediately for a free consultation. The law firm of Craft Hughes Law, P.C. is actively reviewing potential "One A Day" multivitamins cases of deceptive advertising against Bayer Healthcare. Please click here to contact an attorney; or call us toll-free at 888-350-3931 and ask to speak to attorney W. Craft Hughes.
Deceptive Advertising of Multivitamins: Does Not Reduce Risk of Prostate Cancer
Bayer Healthcare ("Bayer") manufacturers and markets One A Day Men's Multivitamins and One A Day Men's 50+ Multivitamins. From at least 2002 until earlier this year, Bayer advertised that the selenium in these vitamins would "support prostate health" and "reduce the risk of prostate cancer" on websites, in television and other advertising, and on product labels.
In May 2003, a study reported that the benefit of selenium supplementation for the prevention of prostate cancer is limited to a very small subgroup of men with the lowest levels of blood selenium. Yet, Bayer continued to advertise that the vitamins would reduce the risk of prostate cancer in all men.
In October 2008, the National Institutes of Health terminated a clinical trial on selenium and cancer prevention after concluding that selenium was not preventing prostate cancer in men. Details of that trial were published in JAMA in January 2009. In the months that followed, Bayer removed references to the vitamins effect on the risk of prostate cancer from their labels and advertisements.
Bayer Labels' Cancer-Fighting Claim Draws Suit
New York Times (October 2, 2009) - A nonprofit group in Washington has filed a lawsuit against Bayer Healthcare charging that the company's labels and commercials falsely claimed its One A Day multivitamins for men may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. A complete copy of the N.Y. Times Article can be viewed by clicking here .
In a complaint, filed on Wednesday in Superior Court in San Francisco, the Center for Science in the Public Interest charged that Bayer had deceived the group's membership of some 756,000 people who bought the pills under false premises. The group asked the court to permanently prohibit Bayer from making prostate claims about its dietary supplements.
UPDATE: Click here to read more about Bayer advertisements misleading men about prostate cancer in the Center for Science in the Public Interest website Article.
The lawsuit comes after a large federal study on prostate cancer and certain dietary supplements was halted last October after researchers reported that men taking vitamin E or the trace mineral selenium, or both, had similar rates of prostate cancer as men taking placebo pills.
In response to a query from a reporter, a spokeswoman for Bayer Healthcare, the American unit of the German pharmaceutical company, wrote in an e-mail message on Thursday that the company had not yet been served with or reviewed the lawsuit.
The company based a portion of the promotion of the men's vitamins on a qualified claim, permitted by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), that selenium may reduce the risk of certain cancers, the spokeswoman wrote.
In June, the agency updated its position, saying that there is limited credible evidence for a relationship between selenium supplements and a reduced risk of prostate cancer.
Bayer is now in the process of revising the packaging and promotional materials for the men's vitamins to remove claims regarding the relationship between selenium and the reduced risk of certain cancers, the spokeswoman wrote.
Meanwhile, packages of One A Day Men's Health Formula, including one bought on Thursday by a reporter at a drugstore in Manhattan, continue to highlight prostate health.
"Did you know that prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and that emerging research suggests Selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer?" reads the label. "One A Day Men's Health Formula is a complete multivitamin plus key nutrients including Selenium to support a healthy prostate."
UPDATE: Click here to read FindLaw's article about Bayer being sued over unsupported prostate cancer claims on One A Day .
One A Day Men's Health Formula had sales of $23.3 million for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 6, according to Information Resources, a market research firm.
The lawsuit over prostate health claims comes at a time when Bayer is the subject of scrutiny by federal regulators and attorneys general from 27 states over charges of deceptive marketing.
In February, after regulators said that commercials for the popular birth control pill Yaz overstated the benefits and played down the risks of the drug, Bayer agreed to spend $20 million on a new ad campaign to counteract misimpressions.
Also, in the last few years, the Federal Trade Commission ("F.T.C.") has twice charged Bayer with making unsubstantiated health claims. Bayer did not admit to wrongdoing in either case, one over aspirin and the other over a supplement called One A Day WeightSmart.
But in 2007. the company agreed to a settlement with the federal government over One A Day WeightSmart that permanently prohibits Bayer from claiming that any dietary supplement or ingredient can or will cure, treat or mitigate any disease unless the company has reliable scientific evidence that supports the claim.
In 2000, Bayer agreed to spend $1 million on an ad campaign to settle charges by the F.T.C. that the company had over promoted the benefits of aspirin for the prevention of heart attacks and stroke in the general adult population.
Contact An Attorney Now
If you purchased and used "One A Day" multivitamins for men to reduce the risk of prostate cancer anytime between May, 2003 - June, 2009, you may be entitled to compensation. Please click here to contact our office by completing the One-A-Day Client Questionnaire; and calling before the deadline toll-free:888-350-3931.
This notice applies to all residents of Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin. If you live in one of these states, you may be eligible for compensation if you purchased and used "One A Day" multivitamins for men to reduce the risk of prostate cancer anytime between May, 2003 - June, 2009.
Please click here to contact our law firm immediately for a free consultation. The law firm of Craft Hughes Law, P.C. is actively reviewing potential "One A Day" multivitamins cases of deceptive advertising against Bayer Healthcare. Please click here to contact an attorney; or call us toll-free at 888-350-3931 and ask to speak to attorney W. Craft Hughes.
