Qualified health claims arising from the landmark 1999 Pearson v. Shalala ruling were predicted to be in widespread use, either filling an important consumer information void or misleading the masses. Yet the results from the current content analysis, which examines more than 1200 instances in which qualified health claims could have been made, reveal that qualified health claims are relatively uncommon on product packages. Indeed, these claims are less common than their consumer-equivalent structure–function claims and are significantly overshadowed by structure–function claims for which little scientific evidence exists.
DSHEA (1994), Public Law No. 103-417. 108 Stat. 4325.
2.
EmordJonathan, W. (2000), “Pearson v. Shalala: The Beginning of the End for FDA Speech Suppression,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(Spring), 139–43.
3.
FDA (2000), “Regulations on Statements Made for Dietary Supplements Concerning the Effect of Product on the Structure or Function of the Body. Final Rule,”Federal Register, 65(January 6), 999–1050.
4.
FDA (2003), “Claims That Can Be Made for Conventional Food and Dietary Supplements,” (accessed January 11, 2008), [available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hclaims.html].
5.
FDA (2005), “Qualified Health Claims Subject to Enforcement Discretion,” CFSAN/Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, (September 2003, updated August 2005, November 2005, and April 2007), (accessed May 30, 2007), [available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qhc-sum.html].
6.
FormanRobert F., and BlockLauren G. (2006), “The Marketing of Opioid Medications Without Prescription over the Internet,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25(Fall), 133–46.
7.
FranceKaren Russo, and BonePaula Fitzgerald (2005), “Policy Makers’ Paradigms and Evidence from Consumer Interpretations of Dietary Supplement Labels,”Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39(Summer), 27–51.
Pearson v. Thompson (2001), U.S. Dist. Lexis 6560.
11.
VladeckDavid, C. (2000), “Truth and Consequences: The Perils of Half-Truths and Unsubstantiated Health Claims for Dietary Supplements,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(Spring), 132–38.
12.
Whitaker v. Thompson (2003), U.S. Dist. Lexis 25299.
