ENHANCEMENT-PILL COMPLAINTS
'Smiling Bob' settles with state
Friday, March 03, 2006
Tracy Turner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 Smiling Bob likely isn't smiling today.

 That's because the dietarysupplement firm, which uses the happy
pitchman to market its sexual-enhancement pill Enzyte, agreed yesterday
to pay $5 million to settle lawsuits with Ohio and other states that
said its pills don't perform as advertised.

 The Cincinnati-based company made unsubstantiated claims that the pill
causes users to experience an increase in virility, energy, stamina and
penis size, according to the lawsuit.

 Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals agreed in the settlement to stop
making health assertions that they can't support with scientific
evidence, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro said.

 Ohio is expected to get $400,000 from the settlement, as well as
restitution for consumers who've filed complaints against the company
with the attorney general's office, the Better Business Bureau or the
company.

 The lawsuit said the company hooked customers with ads that made its
product resemble pharmaceuticals and offered a free 30-day trial. But
consumers weren't informed that the free trial would require them to be
enrolled in a plan that would automatically bill them for future
shipments.

 It also said the company made it difficult to cancel shipments or
obtain refunds.

 The attorney general's office said that Berkeley admits to no
wrongdoing and denies the state's claims. Calls to Berkeley were not
returned.

 Attorneys general in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North
Carolina, Oregon, Texas and several other states also sued Berkeley. In
all, their actions were based on more than 1,000 complaints made against
the company.

 That includes about 150 complaints made in Ohio, the attorney
general's office said.

 tturner@dispatch.com

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

Curtis,
They must be playing their cards on a state by state basis,
just a couple of nights ago I got up for a trip to the head and saw "Bobs
smiling face", I'm not sure if it was a NY or Philly channel.
Tom

One thing I found annoying about this obvious scam is that it used cable
channels such as the science channel.   I know that the cable providers
sell the space to virtually anyone who pays the price and take no
responsibility for it, but I think some naive people may assume if
something is advertised on a science channel that it has some merit.
Perhaps by law TV and cable ad segments should all be preceded by a
simple statement that the broadcaster doesn't endorse the content of any
ads.

Rule Number One:  NEVER believe infomercial-type advertizing.   The
airwaves are full of lies from these dirtbags.