THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM AIRBORNE HEALTH INC.

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Tuesday joined with 32 other state attorneys general in announcing a landmark $7 million settlement with Airborne Inc. that forces the company to stop advertisements that “dramatically misrepresented” its dietary supplements as cold remedies.

“Airborne dramatically misrepresented its products as cold remedies without any scientific evidence to back up its claims,” Attorney General Brown said. “Under this agreement, the company will stop advertisements that suggest that its products are a cure for the common cold.”

Airborne began selling its products as a cold remedy on the Internet around July 2000 and on television in 2004. In its advertisements, Airborne featured people suffering from cold and flu symptoms and made unsupported statements suggesting its products were a cure for the common cold. This included:

• “Airborne Cold Remedy”

• “A Miracle Cold Buster!”

• “Sick of Catching Colds?”

• “Take at the first sign of a cold symptom.”

The company also requested that retailers sell Airborne products in the cold/cough aisle.

To substantiate their claims, Airborne relied upon studies that claimed the major ingredients in their products – Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Zinc – prevent colds. However, subsequent definitive studies found that these ingredients do not have any discernable effect to prevent colds. Despite the information, Airborne continued to market its products as cold remedies.

Investigators also raised concerns about the levels of Vitamin A in Airborne products. In older formulations, Airborne contained 5,000 International Units of Vitamin A. If the product was taken as instructed, consumers would ingest up to 15,000 International Units of Vitamin A daily.

This amount of Vitamin A poses potential health risks to vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women. During the negotiation process, Airborne reformulated its product to contain only 2,000 International Units of Vitamin A.

Under today’s agreement, Airborne Inc. agreed:

• Not to make any claim concerning the health benefit, performance, efficacy or safety of its dietary supplements.

• Not to make any claims that imply that Airborne can diagnose, mitigate, prevent, treat, or cure colds, coughs, the flu, an upper respiratory infection or allergies.

• Not to require, demand, or otherwise influence where a retailer places Airborne Inc. products, such as in the cold and cough aisle.

• Not to market any product that contains directions for use that would, if followed, result in an individual ingesting 15,000 International Units of Vitamin A per day.

• Pay a total of $7 million to 33 states.

Today’s settlement covers all Airborne products including:

• Airborne- Original

• Airborne- Pink Grapefruit

• Airborne- Lemon Lime

• Airborne- Nighttime

• Airborne- Jr. On-The-Go

• Airborne- Seasonal Relief

• Airborne- Sore Throat Gummi Lozenges

• Airborne- Soothing Throat Gummi Lozenges

• Airborne- Power Pixies

Victoria Knight-McDowell, founder and chief executive officer of Airborne Health Inc., said the product continues to be used and trusted by millions of Americans from all walks of life. The agreement, she said, 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 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,” she said. “Airborne continues to be the number one selling product of its kind in America and we appreciate the loyalty of our customers.”

Knight-McDowell added, “Even though we believe the legal claims against Airborne were unjustified, we wanted to close the book on these legal and regulatory issues. 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.”

The states involved in today’s settlement include Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

California will receive $460,000 under the settlement.

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