p>In both Europe and the US the law is very clear. A manufacturer cannot make false advertising claims if its products has not completed the correct regulatory approval process. In theory, this means we are not swamped with ads claiming products will give us perfect skin, stop our hair from falling out and make us as slim as some of these models we see in magazines. In practice, the regulators play wack-a-mole. A company springs into life making outrageous claims for Product A with magic ingredient X which forces hair to regrow faster than the grass in your yard. The regulators notice some months later and issue a notice. When it comes to enforcement, the company has dissolved and a new company has rebranded the product with a new miracle ingredient.
A classic example of this is currently being played out in Europe. Nutrilinks is a Swiss company it is has been claiming that some of its products reinforce hair strength and contribute to reducing hair loss. The European Food Safety Authority asked for evidence of this claim, it found the replies unsatisfactory. It is now forcing the company to stop the advertising claims. This is the latest in a long-running saga with new claims continually made for different “new” ingredients.
You should only ever buy a product that has been through the drug testing regimes if you want to protect yourself properly. This involves supervised clinical trials involving thousands of participants. Only when the drugs are found to deliver provable benefits are they allowed on the market. Obviously, this is an expensive process and inconveniently can prove the products are useless. So many manufacturers prefer to game the system and hope to get enough sales relying on false or misleading ads. In reality, propecia has been approved by the FDA and, when you read its marketing copy claiming that it stops hair loss, this carries a government-backed guarantee. Not one of the health, herbal or other products that claim to stop hair loss have any evidence to support their claims. Only Propecia pills which are also sold as Finasteride pills can legally make the claim.