TESTS OF DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING USED BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WITH AN APPLICATION TO ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
ROBERT KENAGY, DAVID VOLLRATH, MARK FOXABSTRACT. We outline the tests used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to determine whether advertising is unfair or deceptive. Our focus is on how the FTC views non-traditional health-related products and treatments. To help illustrate the application of the FTC advertising tests, we show how they can be used to assess claims made by some Community Acupuncture clinics that patients treated in a group setting gain treatment benefits from group energy (“communal qi”). pp. 11–24
Keywords: alternative medicine, community acupuncture, deceptive advertising, Federal Trade Commission