July 01st, 2014

        Dr. Mehmet Oz has had his own TV show for many years. He is known simply as "Dr. Oz". He has been - and still is - a respectable figure in today's media culture, loved by many viewers. Well, Dr. Oz has gotten into a little trouble. Nothing major - he only received a little scolding and a slap on the wrist. 
      Dr. Oz appeared before the Senate subcommittee on consumer protection in June. This hearing was about protecting consumers from weight-loss product scams involving pills, creams, and supplements on which consumers spend over $2 billion every year. Many products help in some way; many more help in no way. The Federal Trade Commission has charged 4 companies for deceptive advertising in weight-loss this year already. The FTC has collected over $100 million in fines, in the last ten years, to compensate victims of weight-loss scams. It could've been much more!
The main issue with Dr. Oz was how he used a lot of hype and words like "magic", "miracle" and "lightning". Sen Claire McCaskill asked Dr. Oz, "Why do you need to say this stuff when you know it is not true?!" He said he used "flowery" language to get his viewers engaged. He went on to say, "I took part in today's hearing because I am accountable for my role in the proliferation of these scams and I recognize that my enthusiastic language has made the problem worse at times." 
Dr. Oz said he would refrain from using certain "hype" words in the future. He also said that using any weight-loss pill or supplement only works with eating right and exercise. After all that, there is no "magic" or "miracle"... just exercise, and eat right! You already knew that, so save your money!

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