“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing this Policy Statement to provide guidance regarding its enforcement policy with respect to marketing claims for over-the-counter (OTC) homeopathic drugs. It applies only to OTC products intended solely for self-
limiting disease conditions amenable to self-diagnosis of symptoms and treatment.The Commission believes this Policy Statement is appropriate in light of the burgeoning mainstream marketing of OTC homeopathic products alongside other OTC drugs. The FTC’s authority over disease and other health-related claims comes from Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act. Section 5, which applies to both advertising and labeling, prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, such as the deceptive advertising or labeling of OTC drugs. Section 12 prohibits the dissemination of false advertisements in or affecting commerce of food, drugs, devices, services, or cosmetics. Under these provisions, companies must have a reasonable basis for making objective product claims, including claims that a product can treat specific conditions, before those claims are made.Homeopathy, which dates back to the late-eighteenth century, is based on the view that disease symptoms can be treated by minute doses of substances that produce similar symptoms when provided in larger doses to healthy people. Many homeopathic products are diluted to such an extent that they no longer contain detectable levels of the initial substance. In general, homeopathic product claims are not based on modern scientific methods and are not accepted by modern medical experts, but homeopathy nevertheless has many adherents..”