Regulations exist for communicating the health benefits of dietary supplements, per the landmark 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA). The legislation makes it verboten to make any drug-disease claims—so a vitamin C supplement, for example, cannot claim to “cure the common cold.” Instead, it leaves room for structure/function claims—a nutritional bioactive can influence the health of a body organ structure or the function of a part of the body thereof. So, a vitamin C product can claim to “help support a healthy immune system.”
Marketers have long danced around the spirit and letter of the law in order to give a hint to consumers about what they might be able to expect of a supplement.
But there’s a new type of supplement that is a whole ’nother animal. Check out the names of the products. Are your customers in?
