We end 2011 on a sad note. Despite all the efforts of trying to protect consumers from Sam Cohen’s unlawful promises and dangerous [1] treatments, the man is still in full swing. Despite being Sanctioned [2], Sam Cohen ploughed ahead with a flagrant disregard to the law. He ended the year by doing something bold and new… he accelerated his deceptive and unlawful advertising by upgrading to the double-page spread.
Sam Cohen has so much to say, that he now needs two pages in which to advertise his services. Once again, he ignored the Sanactions and placed a double-page ad in the December 2011 issue of ‘My Local Magazine’ which is delivered free to more than 37,000 homes in Glebe, Annandale, Forest Lodge, Leichhardt, Enmore, Newtown, Erskineville, St. Peters, Sydenham, Tempe, Stanmore, Lewisham, Petersham, and Camperdown.
When the Complaints Resolution Panel asked Sam Cohen to prove any of his claims in these ads, he: asked for an extension; engaged a lawyer; made a lengthy submission; but was unable to verify a single claim. Not a one! As a result, the Panel Sanctioned IHRB, saying that the ads and the messages they make must be stopped, and retractions/apologies must be published. So far, true to his character, Sam Cohen has done neither [3]. His ads and his website still appear, unchanged, ignoring the law, and disrespecting the public.
The three testimonials (as with all testimonials ever published by IHRB) are in breach of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code. It’s such a pity that Sam Cohen does not know when to stop. It seems to me that with each blow, he gets up and presses-on, ever defiantly. During the past two years that I have been on this case, I have noticed bolder claims via a stronger push. Sam Cohen has not toned anything down. On the contrary, he has gone from very bad, to even worse. That level of audacity is beyond comprehension.
I spoke with the woman featured here as ‘Maree’. She is Maree Azzopardi, who had no idea what Sam was giving her. She took Finasteride and Minoxidil, and indeed, her hair improved. But that was simply due to these two medications which she could have purchased from anywhere at a fraction of the price that Sam Cohen charged her. Mind you, she told me that she had no idea what she was taking. Sam Cohen never explained the risks to her.
Below is a screen-shot of the ‘My Local Magazine’ website which cycles through each page of the magazine, and it shows a permanent small ad at the bottom right which hyperlinks to IHRB’s website, which is also defying the Sanctions imposed upon it by the Complaints Resolution Panel.
Below is the double-page spread, split in two for easier reading. This is the left side of the ad.
This is the right side of the ad.
