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Consumer Health Digest #23-30
July 23, 2023

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london
., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html
. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org

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Bogus “Miracle Mineral Solution” cure hucksters convicted

A Miami Florida federal jury has convicted Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons, Jonathan, 37, Joseph, 35, and Jordan, 29, of selling $1 million worth of Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS)
https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article242484731.html
. To promote the product as a cure for 95% of the world’s diseases, they set up a phony religious front, the Genesis II Church.
[Weaver J. Federal jury convicts 4 Florida men for selling bleach solution as ‘miracle’ cure for diseases
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article277475553.html
Miami Herald, July 20, 2023]

The jury found all four defendants guilty of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by distributing MMS, an unapproved and misbranded drug.

It also found Jonathan and Gordon guilty of two counts of violating federal court orders requiring them to stop selling MMS in 2020. Contempt charges against Mark and Joseph were dropped as a condition of their extradition from Bogota, Columbia
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/leader-genesis-ii-church-health-and-healing-who-sold-toxic-bleach-fake-miracle-cure
. According to the indictment against the Grenons:

*** MMS is a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water that, when ingested orally, becomes chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper.

*** In 2019, the FDA had strongly urged consumers <https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products> not to purchase or use MMS for any reason, explaining that drinking MMS was the same as drinking bleach and could cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure.

*** The FDA received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and even dying after drinking MMS.

*** The Grenons used Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, an entity they described as a “non-religious church,” to try to avoid government regulation of MMS and to protect themselves from prosecution.

*** MMS could only be acquired through a “donation” to the church, but donation amounts were set at specific dollar amounts and were mandatory,

[Florida man, 3 sons convicted of selling bleach as fake COVID-19 cure:
“Snake-oil salesmen”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-grenon-sons-convicted-selling-fake-covid-19-cure-online-church/
. CBS News, July 20, 2023]

Mark Grenon has claimed to have written to Donald Trump, urging him to promote the alleged healing powers of MMS, and provided the then-president with the product shortly before Trump speculated about using “disinfectant” to treat COVID-19.
[Pilkington E. Leader behind bleach ‘miracle cure’ claims Trump consumed his product
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/bleach-miracle-cure-donald-trump
. The Guardian, June 22, 2021]

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Marketing of product claimed to reduce alcohol cravings banned

A company called Rejuvica and its owners, Kyle Armstrong and Kyle Dilger, who marketed Sobrenex, a product claimed to reduce or eliminate alcohol cravings and consumption, have agreed to a proposed court order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/rejuvicastipulation_for_permanent_injunction.pdf
that:

*** permanently bans them from making any unsubstantiated claims about health-care products or services
*** prohibits them from misrepresenting the existence, contents, or results of any scientific test or study
*** prohibits them from falsely portraying paid advertisements as legitimate news coverage
*** requires them to disclose all paid endorsements
*** requires them to pay $650,000 to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to be used to provide refunds to consumers.

The order contains a total monetary judgment of $3,247,737, which is partially suspended based on the defendants’ inability to pay the full amount. If the defendants are found to have lied to the FTC about their financial status, the full judgment will be immediately due.
[FTC takes action against makers of Sobrenix supplement that deceptively claimed to reduce alcohol cravings, relied on fake endorsements
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/07/ftc-takes-action-against-makers-sobrenix-supplement-deceptively-claimed-reduce-alcohol-cravings
. FTC press release, July 19, 2023]

According to the FTC’s complaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/rejuvicacomplaintandexhibits.pdf
alleging violations of the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018, the defendants:

*** made numerous unsubstantiated and false claims about Sobrenix

*** used paid endorsers in deceptively formatted advertising

***  bogus review sites to deceive consumers about their product

*** sold the product on their own websites as well as on Amazon and through Walmart with messages such as: “STRUGGLING TO CONTROL YOUR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION? Sobrenix is designed to reduce alcohol cravings and help you detoxify your body so you can successfully manage alcohol consumption. Even better, taken before drinking, Sobrenix’s ingredients help you stop before you’ve had too much.”

*** lacked adequate evidence to support these claims

*** falsely claimed Sobrenix was proven to reduce alcohol cravings and consumption

*** hired “experts” to appear on local television stations around the U.S. and Canada without disclosing Rejuvica was paying them

*** highlighted these appearances in their marketing materials as “news” coverage, failing to disclose they were actually paid advertisements

*** created websites promoting Sobrenix and other products sold by Rejuvica that appeared to offer independent product reviews, but the reviews were written by Rejuvica employees under fake names or fake titles such as “senior editor”

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Skin reactions linked to traditional medicines

Researchers in India analyzed individual case reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) database (VigiBase) from between January 2016 and June 2021 describing adverse skin reactions linked to plant-based and animal-based products in natural form (described as traditional medicine).
[Barvaliya MJ, and others. Suspected cutaneous adverse drug reactions reported with traditional medicines: Analysis of data for United Nations Asia region from WHO VigiBase
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2023.1088841/full
. Frontiers in Pharmacology 14, May 2023]

A total of 5,686 reports (19.9% of all adverse reaction reports) involved 8,588 skin-related reactions. Out of those reports, 3,523 involving 5,761 suspected skin-related reactions had sufficient information to be considered in the final analysis. The analysis revealed:

*** the most common skin reactions were itching (29.6%), rash (20.3%), and hives (18.9%)

*** the most common traditional medicines implicated in skin reactions were: (a) Artemisia argyi Lév. and Vaniot. with 856 reports, (14.9% of reactions), (b) Ginkgo biloba (5.1%), and (c) combinations of Clematis + Prunella vulgaris L. + Trichosanthes kirilowii (4.8%)

***  almost 7% of skin reactions linked to traditional medicines in the WHO database were reported as serious

Commenting on the study, Dr. Edzard Ernst concluded:

"Herbal remedies have a reputation for being time-tested, gentle, harmless, and benign. Reports such as this one might make us doubt this cliche. More importantly, they should force us to ask whether the remedy we are tempted to try truly does generate more good than harm. In most instances, I fear, the answer is not positive. [Ernst E. Herbal remedies often cause dermatological side-effects some of which are serious"
https://edzardernst.com/2023/06/herbal-remedies-often-cause-dermatological-side-effects-some-of-which-are-serious/
. EdzardErnst.com, June 26, 2023]

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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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