THE SCIENCE OF ANTI-AGING MEDICINE VERSUS ANTI-AGING PRODUCT MARKETERS
In order for the A4M to maintain its credibility as a fair and impartial arbiter of science versus hype, anti-aging medicine has remained non-commercial and non-profit. In upholding its mission of education and training, the A4M has functioned to protect the public and the new medical specialty of anti-aging medicine. We serve as an advocate for this new science and as a conduit to physicians, scientists, and the educated public who wish to benefit from the almost daily breakthroughs in biotechnology which promise both a greater quality as well as quantity of life. We are also committed to developing an ethical marketplace in which vendors and manufacturers supply independent scientific validation for all products and claims made.
Unfortunately, there exists of a number of marketers who have little regard for the integrity of the science of anti-aging medicine, and who seek to hype recent developments in this field to sell their own products, some of which have questionable value and are of limited clinical worth.
To combat unscrupulous marketing of nutritional and healthcare products, the A4M was the first organization to initiate three separate programs to protect the public from unsupportable activities by marketers:
A4M Blue Ribbon Panel: Recently, attention has been given in the press and on Capitol Hill to the dubious claims by some who are marketing anti-aging products. A4M supports the efforts of those who seek to expose fraudulent commercial activities but also believes that there are many legitimate and beneficial anti-aging products. A4M believes that the best way to protect the public from fraudulent claims is by educating consumers. A4M also believes that the anti-aging marketplace should begin to regulate itself. To enable it to do so, A4M believes that ethical guidelines should be established for anti-aging product marketing. Accordingly, A4M has established a panel to consider and promulgate such guidelines. The committee is composed of medical ethicists, physicians, scientists and business leaders.
Consumer Education & Research Council (CERC; www.cerc2000.com): Established in 1999, the four-point mission of CERC is as follows:
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Expose anti-aging product marketing practices that may be misleading or deceptive
- Educate consumers about what they should expect from anti-aging healthcare products
- Create a forum for sharing anti-aging health product information
- Identify and give special recognition to the most reputable products
Advisories: In an ongoing effort to warn the public of dubious marketing efforts of fraudulent and unscrupulous vendors, the A4M regularly issues advisories at its website, The World Health Network (www.worldhealth.net). In July 2001, A4M issued our alert titled “Beware Bait-and-Switch Nutritionals Marketing that Misrepresents Scientific Growth Hormone Research.” It warned the public of misleading claims being made by nutritional HGH manufacturers and vendors whereby they confuse research validating injectable HGH replacement therapy as validating nutritional products. READ THE ADVISORY
