Quick fixes for the common cold run from the old wives' tale of chicken soup or a nasty mix of lemon, cayenne, garlic and honey to over-the-counters such as Emergen-C, Airborne, Yin Chiao and garlic poultices. Hey, whatever stops the drip.
But it's one thing for your mom to urge you to drink hot water with lemon all day than for a company, like Airborne Health Inc. to advertise and sell its product as a medically proven cold buster.
In fact, because it actually made that claim, Airborne will pay $7 million to settle allegations by 32 states including Idaho, over false advertising.
Already this year, the company has agreed to pay $30 million to settle nearly identical allegations in a class action lawsuit brought by consumers and the Federal Trade Commission.
Founded in 1999 by Victoria Knight-McDowell, a former second-grade teacher, Airborne sales have surpassed $100 million within seven years. Just imagine if your "Bubbe" had patented that soup.
The Airborne box suggests taking the product at the first sign of a cold, and an Airborne ad testimonial called it a "miracle cold buster." One of the most egregious of claims came via a company news release saying that Airborne would get rid of most colds in one hour.
The company claims that the product will "support your immune system through its blend of vitamins and minerals."
It also stands by the "health benefit, performance, efficacy or safety of its supplements in preventing and treating colds and other ailments."
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Airborne claimed that a double-blind, placebo-controlled study was professionally conducted by GNG Pharmaceutical Services, a company specializing in clinical trial management. But ABC News found that GNC is a two-man operation started just for this one study. In truth, no clinic existed nor were doctors or scientists involved.
Airborne is a proprietary combination of 17 vitamins, minerals and herbs. The company is based in Bonita Springs, Fla., with offices in Carmel, Calif., and New Jersey.
"Airborne continues to be used and trusted by millions of Americans from all walks of life," Knight-McDowell said in a statement. "The agreement ... will have no impact on our products or on the ability of consumers to buy them, because it deals with language that had already been dropped from our advertising and labeling. What hasn't changed is the simple fact that the key ingredients in Airborne have been shown to help support the immune system. Airborne continues to be the No. 1-selling product of its kind in America and we appreciate the loyalty of our customers."
Except perhaps the thousands who joined the class action suit. These disloyal folks will be reimbursed for a maximum of six containers of Airborne, or about $70 per claimant.
"There's no credible evidence that what's in Airborne can prevent colds or protect you from a germy environment," said nutritionist David Schardt of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit advocacy group. "Airborne is basically on overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that's been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed."
The settlement with the states' attorneys general, which involves no admission of wrongdoing on Airborne's part, is the last of three settlements involving similar claims regarding the older advertising and labeling of Airborne dietary supplements. Nearly 15 percent of the settlement funds, up to $3.4 million, will go to attorneys and to Center for Science in the Public Interest. The deadline for submitting claims applications was September 18, 2008.
"Even though we believe the legal claims against Airborne were unjustified, we wanted to close the book on these legal and regulatory issues," Knight-McDowell said. "The agreement lets us focus again on what led us to start this labor of love more than 10 years ago: making great products people want and count on. We will continue to talk about the important benefits that Airborne can provide."
In other words, if you think a teacher can't prevaricate, well, then ... I know a bridge in Brooklyn.
Airborne, a vitamin fizz tablet, is about as effective as drinking a plain glass of water with your vitamin C.
