[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31939-31941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12734]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 122 3255]
Lornamead, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public
Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement.
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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint
and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 27, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/lornameadconsent online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Lornamead, Inc.--
Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3255'' on your comment and file your
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/lornameadconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC
20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th
Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda K. Badger, FTC Western Region,
San Francisco (415-848-5100), 901 Market Street, Suite 570, San
Francisco, CA 94103.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Home Page (for May 28, 2014), on the World Wide Web, at
http://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before June 27, 2014.
Write ``Lornamead, Inc.--Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3255'' on your
comment.
[[Page 31940]]
Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable,
on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to
remove individuals' home contact information from comments before
placing them on the Commission Web site.
Because your comment will be made public, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number,
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive health information, like medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest.
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\1\ In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/lornameadconsent by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you
also may file a comment through that Web site.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Lornamead, Inc.--Consent
Agreement; File No. 122 3255'' on your comment and on the envelope, and
mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission,
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610
(Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex
D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that
it receives on or before June 27, 2014. You can find more information,
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the
Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing consent
order from Lornamead, Inc. (``respondent''). The proposed consent order
has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt
of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period
will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the
Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received,
and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take
appropriate action or make final the agreement's proposed order.
This matter involves respondent's advertising, marketing, and sale
of a line of products including ``Lice Shield Shampoo & Conditioner in
1,'' ``Lice Shield Leave In Spray,'' and ``Lice Shield Gear Guard''
(collectively, ``Lice Shield products''). Respondent marketed Lice
Shield products in retail stores and on the Internet. According to the
FTC's proposed complaint, respondent promoted Lice Shield products,
which contain essential oils such as citronella, as a way to avoid, or
to reduce the risk of, getting a head lice infestation
(``pediculosis''). Lice Shield products are intended strictly as a
means to deter lice, and not as a means to treat an existing head lice
infestation. These products do not kill head lice or their eggs.
The proposed complaint alleges that respondent made several claims
in various advertisements regarding the efficacy of Lice Shield
products to deter lice, including that applying the products to hair or
head gear: prevents head lice infestations; decreases the likelihood of
an infestation by over 80%; dramatically reduces the likelihood of an
infestation during an outbreak; or reduces the likelihood of an
infestation during an outbreak. Respondent also allegedly represented
that Lice Shield products are more effective when consumers use both
the shampoo and the leave-in spray. The proposed complaint alleges that
these claims are unsubstantiated and thus violate the FTC Act. Further,
the proposed complaint alleges that respondent represented, in various
advertisements, that scientific tests prove that, when used as
directed, Lice Shield products will significantly reduce the likelihood
or chance of a head lice infestation. The complaint alleges that this
claim is false and thus violates the FTC Act.
The proposed consent order contains provisions designed to prevent
respondent from engaging in similar acts or practices in the future.
Part I of the order prohibits respondent from representing that use of
any drug, cosmetic, or pesticide is effective in: (a) Preventing
pediculosis, (b) eliminating or reducing the risk of pediculosis by a
specific percentage or amount, or (c) repelling all lice, or a specific
percentage or amount of lice from a person's head, unless the
representation is non-misleading, and, at the time it is made,
respondent possesses and relies upon competent and reliable scientific
evidence that substantiates that the representation is true. For
purposes of this Part I, competent and reliable scientific evidence
shall consist of at least one adequate and well-controlled human
clinical study of the product, or of an essentially equivalent product,
that conforms to an acceptable design and protocol and whose results,
when considered in light of the entire body of relevant and reliable
scientific evidence, are sufficient to substantiate that the
representation is true.
Part II of the proposed order prohibits any representation, other
than those covered under Part I, that use of any drug, cosmetic, or
pesticide, will reduce the risk of a head lice infestation or repel
lice, unless the representation is non-misleading, and, at the time of
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making such representation, respondent possesses and relies upon
competent and reliable scientific evidence that is sufficient in
quality and quantity based on standards generally accepted in the
relevant scientific fields, when considered in light of the entire body
of relevant and reliable scientific evidence, to substantiate that the
representation is true. For purposes of this Part, competent and
reliable scientific evidence means tests, analyses, research, or
studies that have been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner
by qualified persons, and that are generally accepted in the profession
to yield accurate and reliable results.
Part III of the proposed order prohibits any representation, other
than those covered under Part I, about the health benefits of any drug,
cosmetic, or pesticide, unless the representation is non-misleading,
and at the time of making such representation, the respondent possesses
and relies upon competent and reliable scientific evidence that is
sufficient in quality and quantity based on standards generally
accepted in the relevant scientific fields, when considered in light of
the entire body of relevant and reliable scientific evidence, to
substantiate that the representation is true. For purposes of this
Part, competent and reliable scientific evidence means tests, analyses,
research, or studies that have been conducted and evaluated in an
objective manner by qualified persons, and that are generally accepted
in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.
Part IV of the proposed order addresses the allegedly false claim
that scientific tests prove that use of Lice Shield products
significantly reduces the risk or likelihood of a head lice
infestation. Part IV prohibits respondent from misrepresenting the
existence, contents, validity, results, conclusions, or interpretations
of any test, study, or research, when advertising any drug, cosmetic,
or pesticide.
Part V of the proposed order states that the order does not
prohibit respondent from making representations for any drug that are
permitted in labeling for that drug under any tentative or final
standard promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (``FDA''), or
under any new drug application approved by the FDA.
Part VI of the proposed order requires respondent to pay five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to the Commission. This payment
shall be deposited in the United States Treasury as disgorgement.
Parts VII, VIII, IX, and X of the proposed order require respondent
to keep copies of relevant advertisements and materials substantiating
claims made in the advertisements; to provide copies of the order to
its personnel; to notify the Commission of changes in corporate
structure that might affect compliance obligations under the order; and
to file compliance reports with the Commission. Part XI provides that
the order will terminate after twenty (20) years, with certain
exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the proposed order or to modify its terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-12734 Filed 6-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P