TGA orders IHRB to stop advertising

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On 27 February 2014, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Ordered IHRB to stop advertising. The Order was made under Regulation 9 of the Therapeutic Goods Regulation 1990. IHRB must, by law, take certain actions in relation to the complaint that I had submitted about IHRB’s advertising which the Complaints Resolution Panel had found to be ‘unlawful, misleading and unverified’. The Panel placed Sanctions on IHRB, which Mr Sam Cohen, owner of IHRB, had ignored for over two years. You can keep an eye on how long IHRB has been in breach of those Sanctions, at this link.

Professor John Skerritt, National Manager of the TGA, advised that the TGA has Ordered Sam Cohen and IHRB to:

1) Withdraw print media and internet advertising;

2) Withdraw any representations, including implied representations, that the advertised goods:

— are free of side effects;
— effective in all cases of hair loss or for all sufferers of hair loss;
— can aid in hair regrowth on all parts of the scalp;
— can aid in the regrowth of natural hair for those experiencing hair loss;
— could be effective in cases where other therapeutic goods such as Minoxidil had not been effective;

3) Withdraw any representations that:

— DHT is ‘the balding gene’; and
— the advertised goods block ‘the balding gene’;
— or that the advertised ‘natural and herbal’ goods can help people with genetic baldness regrow their own natural hair.

4) Publish a retraction on the IHRB website.

A full analysis of this breaking news item is now available at this link.

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Days in breach of TGA Orders

As at 19 August 2015, Sam Cohen and IHRB are 544 days in breach of TGA Orders that demanded that IHRB stop its misleading, deceptive, and unlawful claims and to remove its statements from its website. The TGA also Ordered IHRB to publish a retraction on its website. Despite eventually publishing the retraction, IHRB is still in breach of these TGA Orders. Such a breach constitutes a criminal offence. To learn more, see the 'Days in breach' section in the menu at the top of this page.