7 CBD Companies Cited for Implied COVID claims
Citing clinical studies on a commercial website is high risk
Seven CBD companies cited for implied COVID claims in this Warning Letter Wednesday. These are the first CBD-related warning letters after the announcement of the COVID and acidic cannabinoid introductory studies and the biggest agency action against CBD in over a year.
One learning target of the WLW post is discussing clinical studies on a commercial website can easily be considered marketing claims. There does not appear to be any overt call-to-action or link from the studies to a shopping cart. Discussing clinical studies about an ingredient (CBDA) is enough to attract a letter. COVID-related discussions are very high risk and do not, in my opinion, belong on a commercial website.
From warning letter: Another separate study from the 2022 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy found that two cannabinoid acids (CBDa & CBGa) bind to spike proteins of SARSCOV-2. Thus, preventing the virus from entering cells and causing infection.” [from your webpage}
Read this warning letter here.
These warning letters are not surprising. We discuss this in Laura Drotleff”s Hemp Industry Daily article from January here.
From the article: with the number of “cringe-worthy product claims” aiming to cash in on scientists’ research, companies promoting COVID research with links to products should consider FDA and FTC enforcement “a given,” Waldstein said. “I predict we should see a batch of CBDA and COVID warning letters coming out in the next couple of months.”
There are several other learning targets, such as blogs on a commercial website, and social media hashtags are considered claims.
I discuss best practices for blogs and discussing ingredient benefits here.
From another warning letter: “[H]eavensorganics #covid #covid19 #cbdhelps #cbdoil #naturesremedies #naturalremedy #natureheals” [From a January 25, 2022 post on your social media website
I discuss the risks with hashtags and social media posts here.
These warning letters are uncommon joint FDA and FTC action, a “shot across the bow” and a clear warning to the industry of the agencies.
Read the FDA Roundup here.
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