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Washington Flattens Body Enhancement Claims

January 5, 2003
A Marysville, Washington, company that made unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of body-enhancement products it sold over the Internet has agreed to stop offering the products in its home state.

Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire said Omni BioTech International, Inc., which also did business as Small Breast Solutions (SBS), targeted consumers who desired breast enlargement, weight loss, and sexual dysfunction cures.

The products ranged from $14.95 for a supply of breast-enhancement soap to $349.90 for a six-month supply of the "Complete System."

"Products that claim to improve physical appearance will always be an easy sell," Gregoire said. "Unfortunately, the evidence to back up the claims is often less than skin deep."

A lawsuit against Omni Bio Tech and the simultaneous settlement were filed by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division in Snohomish County Superior Court.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants marketed their products with unsubstantiated claims of effectiveness. For example, the defendants claimed that the SBS Breast Enhancement Capsules were "packed with the only four herbs that actually build healthy new cells and tissues in the breasts, making them larger and firmer." The defendants also claimed that the changes in breast size were permanent and completely safe.

SBS products included breast enhancement capsules, liquid, Fenu-Fennel Spray Lotion, tea and soap, and Sher Breast Cream. In addition to breast enhancement products, SBS also sold DreamaLEAN, Simply Slender Body Wraps, and sexual performance products called Veletrin, Velotrex and Stimulaire. DreamaLEAN promised to break up fatty pockets and cellulite in specific areas of the body such as the hips, thighs, stomach, buttocks, back of the arms, and any other areas with excessive fatty deposits."

The company sold products on a variety of websites, including www.sbsproducts.com, www.weightloss-formulas.com, www.dreamalean.com, www.mdjournals.com, www.breastenhancement-solutions.com, and www.velotrim.com.

Under the settlement, Omni BioTech agreed to pay $34,000 in civil penalties and legal costs, to pay refunds to dissatisfied consumers, and to stop selling its products in Washington.

Refunds will be offered to hundreds of customers who have already filed complaints with the company, the Attorney General's Office or the Better Business Bureau, or who file complaints with the business or the AG's Office within the next three months.

Omni BioTech is the second Internet-based, body-enhancement business to face action by the Washington Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division this year. The office earlier settled with a Snohomish County business that marketed a product called Nature's Advantage, which claimed to increase breast size without surgery.

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