One A Day Vitimins Don’t Prevent Prostate Cancer

The watchdog group CSPI wants the FTC to stop Bayer Healthcare LLC ads for two of thier popular multivitamin products because scientific evidence does not support that selenium prevents prostate cancer.

Bayer advertising claims that One A Day Men’s 50+ Advantage and Men’s One A Day Health Formula vitimins reduce the risk of prostate cancer but the Center for Science in the Public Interest sites a recent government-sponsored trial called SELECT that disputes the basis of the claim in their FTC complaint.

Bayer received warnings from the FDA pertaining to advertised weight loss claims on another One A Day product in 2007. The FDA warned that unsubstantiated health claims in vitamin ads will not be tolerated. Now the consumer group CSPI is asking Federal Trade Commission to back them up.

According to the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) published in January the antioxidant selenium “did not prevent prostate cancer” in a population of healthy men” and according the CSPI that makes the One A Day ads at state “A complete multivitamin plus selenium, which emerging research suggests may reduce the risk of prostate cancer,” false advertising.

Beyer acknowledges the CSPI complaint but stands behind their produce and their advertising stating “We are aware of CSPI’s complaint and are in the process of reviewing their allegations. In the meantime, we stand behind all claims made.”