Where to begin...Makers of Airborne Settle False-Ad Suit With Refunds
By Mike Nizza
The following news may not astonish many of you, but feel free to quietly claim your cut: The makers of Airborne, a line of popular herbal supplements that was marketed as a “miracle cold buster,” have decided to settle the false-advertising complaints in a class-action lawsuit for $23.3 million, according to one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
While agreeing to reimburse customers for up to six purchases of Airborne products, the company made no stunning admissions. “Defendants deny any wrongdoing or illegal conduct, but have agreed to settle the litigation,” the company said in a statement.
Under the agreement, a special Web site was created here to accept claims from customers, who have spent far more than $23.3 million on the range of Airborne products, from Airborne On-the-Go and Airborne Nighttime to Airborne Gummi and Airborne Power Pixies, which is sweetened for children.
Who would ever believe that “an effervescent dietary supplement that was created by a school teacher” could cure the common cold? Evidently, quite a few people: the company says it took in more than $100 million from sniffly consumers through 2006, who followed the company’s advice to take the stuff at the first sign of symptoms and to expect relief within an hour or two. ...
I used Airborne regularly about -- I think -- 2 years ago. I'm not going to say I wasn't affected by the advertising, but I can say that never once did I think Airborne could "cure" a cold I was developing. So, despite all the current hullabaloo, I have no problem with Airborne, because I don't feel they "duped" me.
I can say, however, that Airborne did work at what I used it for -- a boost to the immune system when I was starting to feel sick. (And I read the ingredients throughly before taking it.) I would take one in the morning before work and sometimes before bed. Almost immediately after taking an Airborne, I would feel slightly energized and refreshed. In fact, I soon realized that I could not take them before bed as they kept me up. (If I recall correctly, Airborne does not have caffeine in it.)
My purpose for using Airborne was that I hate taking cold medicine as it slows me down cognitively. I don't like to "drug" myself up. With that in mind, Airborne was a nice compromise. However, my wife and I had dinner with some friends, one of which is in the process of becoming a family doctor. He railed against Airborne saying it was no more than water and that all we were doing was drinking water and that alone was enough to provide the boost and good for a cold. Consequently, my wife has not bought anymore Airborne.
So what am I ranting about? Well, if Airborne mislead consumers by suggesting their product could cure colds or that the product had been subjected to rigorous testing that it actually hadn't been, well, then yes, they did wrong and deserve to be punished.
However, I'm also tired of reading stories in papers about topics of which I have personal knowledge, and noting how the reporting is indeed more of a story. Like I've said and thought countless other times, I wonder just how often when I read and hear news stories just how accurate and how much of the real picture I am getting?
I mean, whether the affects of Airborne were simply placebo or they actually energized and freshened people up, like myself, is all washed aside. What I'm tired of is the "experts" up on high telling all the "non-experts" what does and doesn't work. These so-called experts are usually scientists conducting experiments in labs and writing papers reviewed by other scientists.
Check out the first comment to this article:
All I have to say, Mr. Kawrel, is go ask the "experts" about Climate Change. What's the cause, hm?Believable. People will do anything people on television will tell them. I see people disregard Physician advise because they heard an advertisement on TV. People want every little thing fixed with a pill. These morons do not deserve money!
— Posted by Kawrel
Unfortunately, Airborne probably isn't the best example to be defending in this instance and I am not real articulate about the "Ivory Tower" phenomenon going on right now with white-coated Scientists and their "studies" running everything right now -- including policy. And don't get me wrong, I am a Science enthusiast. Science and the scientific method have done so much for humanity that a list of its accomplishments would fill volumes.
However, I also know that "science" has destroyed cultures and denigrated traditions and remedies and practices that humans have used for generations! Sure, many of these things were simply "voodoo" but just as many were not, and we don't always have to wait for a white-coated scientist-priest to tell us what we can and can't do.
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