NAD refutes Pure Life's performance claims for Gabatrol

NEW YORK The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus on Wednesday recommended that Pure Life modify or discontinue performance, speed-of-action and exclusivity claims for its Gabatrol dietary supplement product.

Following its review of the data provided by the Pure Life, NAD determined that the claims at issue—”feel your stress and anxiety melt away in just 10 minutes,” for example—imply that Gabatrol provides relief from stress anxiety and depression reduction. NAD noted that the advertising does not disclose that the support relied upon is based on animal studies on the ingredients.

In addition to the claims of stress, anxiety and depression reduction, the advertising also claims that Gabatrol “enhances ambition, motivation, and libido,” and “decreases performance anxiety.” NAD found these claims to be specific performance claims, and found no support for them in the record. Accordingly, NAD recommended that these claims be discontinued.

NAD found that overall, the advertiser must discontinue all of its performance claims as currently written. The advertising must be extensively modified to make it clear that all claims being made are based on animal studies conducted on the specific ingredients, not the product itself and that the ingredients may not perform the same way in humans.

NAD also recommended that the advertiser discontinue all speed-of-action claims, as there was no support for such claims.

In its advertiser’s statement, Pure Life agreed to disagree with NAD’s concludsions, but said it would “take NAD’s recommendations into account in future advertising, and will make changes to the current Web site in order to reflect the NAD’s conclusions.”