The settlement by Airborne makers Victoria Knight McDowell, an elementary school teacher from Carmel, California, and her screenwriter husband Thomas Rider McDowell, includes refunds to consumers who bought the tablet and advertising placements in selected publications informing the public how to get the refund.
The lawsuit was filed in 2006 after a TV news shows reported that the clinical trial of Airborne was not done by a pharmaceutical firm as the tablet makers advertised, but by two people. Ensuing investigations by state attorney generals and the Federal Trade Commission confirmed that the McDowells' claims were false.
Naturalproductsinsider.com quoted David Schardt, one of the legal counsels in the lawsuit, as saying, "There's no credible evidence that what's in Airborne can prevent colds or protect you from a germy environment. Airborne is basically an overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that's been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed."
Schardt is a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
