TINA.org Supports FTC’s Settlement with TruHeight

The supplement industry has long operated in a sort of Wild West. Even as the industry has grown exponentially in recent years – and is projected to get even larger – supplement companies, unlike pharmaceutical firms, still aren’t required to prove that their products are safe or effective before they are sold to consumers.

And while supplement companies must ensure that their health claims are properly substantiated, many simply chose not to follow the law.

Take TruHeight, a supplement whose unsupported claims to help kids grow taller were the subject of a TINA.org ad alert in 2023. The company’s deceptive growth claims later caught the attention of the FTC, which recently reached a settlement with the marketer of TruHeight that permanently prohibits the company from making unsubstantiated health claims, among other things. (The agreement also imposes a $4 million judgment, though TruHeight is only required to pay $750,000 due to its inability to pay the full amount.)

This week, TINA.org filed a comment supporting the proposed consent order. In its comment, TINA.org noted that the supplement industry continues to be a significant source of misleading development and other types of health claims targeting children and their families, and has been for years.

The TruHeight matter comes 20 years after the FTC’s enforcement action against HeightMax – which used a near-identical pitch to exploit parents’ concerns about their children’s development to sell supplements with no reliable scientific backing. In 2015, after TINA.org filed a complaint with the FTC against NourishLife over its Speak supplement, which was marketed as a treatment for childhood speech delays without proper substantiation, the FTC reached a settlement with the company, resulting in a $3.68 million judgment.

The FTC now faces new challenges reining in the deceptive marketing of supplements. According to the agency’s complaint against TruHeight, the company amplified its unsubstantiated health claims with thousands of fabricated reviews – some written by employees, others generated by AI chatbots.

Which is why it’s important that the FTC use the TruHeight settlement to send a clear signal to the supplement industry that deceptive advertising aimed at children will be met with meaningful enforcement.