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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Carol Pearson
Washington, DC
09 January 2007
watch Weight Loss Drug report
The federal government has slapped multimillion-dollar fines on companies that market four types of weight-control compounds. Not because the pills are unsafe, but because regulators decided1 the companies' claims about their products' results were false.
People throughout the world spend billions of dollars a year on weight loss pills.
Weight loss drugs
The U.S. government says some of these pills -- including Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa and One-a-Day WeightSmart, do not live up to advertising2 claims.
Deborah Platt Majoras, from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, says the loss to the consumer is not weight. "Paying for fad3 science and miracle ingredients is a good way to lose nothing but your cash."
The Federal Trade Commission says claims by the makers4 of these products are not backed by science. The Commission says celebrity5 endorsements6 and other advertising make losing weight seem easy.
The marketers have to pay hefty fines. The companies have also agreed to change their ads, although Bayer, which makes WeightSmart, and TrimSpa say scientific research does back their product claims. People will still be able to buy these products because they are not considered harmful.
The products are also available outside the United States.
But weight-loss expert Dr. Louis Aronne hopes consumers will be more aware. "My hope is that what will come from this is that consumers will be more aware and more skeptical7 of these products, that businesses won't carry them."
However, TrimSpa say it does not expect the ruling to impact sales.
1 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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2 advertising | |
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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3 fad | |
n.时尚;一时流行的狂热;一时的爱好 | |
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4 makers | |
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式) | |
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5 celebrity | |
n.名人,名流;著名,名声,名望 | |
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6 endorsements | |
n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 );(驾驶执照上的)违章记录;(公开的)赞同;(通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的)宣传 | |
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7 skeptical | |
adj.怀疑的,多疑的 | |
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