WOONSOCKET – The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that CVS Caremark Corp. has agreed to pay $2.78 million to settle charges that the pharmacy giant deceptively marketed its AirShield brand dietary supplements as a treatment for colds and flu.
The settlement calls for CVS to use the money to provide refunds to customers who bought AirShield products. Consumers who are eligible will be identified using their CVS ExtraCare discount cards and CVS.com order histories.
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“The order also will bar CVS from making claims that any CVS-brand food, drug, or dietary supplement can reduce the risk of or prevent colds, protect against cold viruses in crowded places, fight germs, or boost the immune system unless the claims are true and backed by scientific evidence,” the commission said.
The FTC said the case was part of a series of cases it has brought this year against companies that marketed dietary tablets and powders as cold and flu remedies, with other targets including Airborne Health Inc., Improvita Health Products Inc. and Rite Aid Corp.
David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, said the actions were especially important as flu season approaches. “With orders against Airborne, Rite Aid, and the one proposed against CVS, manufacturers and retailers are on notice that they have to tell the truth about what dietary supplements can and cannot do,” he said.
Separately, CVS Caremark successfully sold $1.5 billion worth of 30-year bonds yesterday, its first sale of unsecured debt since March and its largest sale since May 2007, according to Bloomberg News.
Tuesday was likely the biggest day of dollar bond sales so far this year, with at least $17.4 billion of offerings sold, according to Bloomberg. CVS’s bonds were priced to yield 187.5 basis points more than 30-year Treasury bonds.
Additional information is available at CVS.com.
