FTC: Medford business must stop COVID-19 claims

MEDFORD, Ore. — The Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to several Oregon businesses, including one in southern Oregon, for allegedly making unsupported health claims related to COVID-19.

According to Portland NBC affiliate KGW, ‘Holistic Health Acupuncture’ in Medford and a couple other Oregon businesses received the letter.

The government agency says there’s no scientific evidence the treatments or products the companies are advertising work.

Several businesses across the country have received letters for treatments that include Chinese herbal medicine, music therapy, and homeopathic treatments and shields said to boost people’s immune systems.

We reached out to the business on Thursday. On Friday,  the following reply was recieved:

Thank you for inquiring and for making us aware that there had been a warning letter issued. We have not received a letter in the mail, but mail has been slower these days. I was able to look the letter up on the TFC website.

We have never claimed that we have a cure for COVID-19. Chinese Medicine treats the person not the illness. As practitioners of Chinese Medicine, we diagnoses symptoms sets and patterns and then formulate herbal prescriptions that can alleviate symptoms and support the individual’s body as they transition through an illness. Chinese Medicine views health and disease in a different way from western medicine, and often it can be difficult to explain. When we use the word treatment, we are referring to treating the individual.

Clearly, the warning letter explains that the FTC is opposed to the use of the word COVID-19 combined with a mention of a selling a product or service that cures it. The FTC is in high alert over any claim related to COVID-19. It appears that many warning letters have been sent to anyone discussing services or products that might ease symptoms. These range from Chinese herbs, supplements, ozone therapy, nitric acid, all the way to music therapy you can listen to on a headset.

Many of the complaints from the FTC regarding our website were taken out of context. In response to the warning letter, we have made some changes to our website and facebook page, to clarify that we are not promising or selling a cure for COVID-19.

Some of the text from our particular website was in reference to the use of herbs in hospitals in China and what herbs are being used there with the COVID-19 patients. This is of particular interest to practitioners of Chinese medicine. In many hospitals in China, Chinese herbs were, and still are being used to shorten the length of hospitalization and this is news worth sharing. The results have been promising, and I imagine that in the wake of COVID-19, we will learn so much more about this topic of combining western and eastern medical treatments. In these times it is great to see the world coming together seeking relief for patients in need.

I hope this helps you understand our situation. We have been supporting our patients in the safest and highest intent for years and will continue to offer our knowledge and support for them especially in times like these.

Sincerely,
Jenn Collins L.Ac., MSOM
Holistic Health Acupuncture

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