Office of Fair Trading (UK)
OFT stops misleading anti-impotency mailings
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has obtained assurances from a Latvian company that it will no longer promote and sell
its impotency product, 'STIFF Strips', in the UK. S.I.H.N sent mailings to UK consumers under the name of 'Reprohealth'.
The mailings claimed that STIFF Strips were 'five times more powerful than any other impotency pill, spray or cure' and
offered packs of STIFF Strips for up to £45 for 168 strips.
Described as a 'new discovery' containing 'powerful anti-impotency agents', mailings made claims about the efficacy of
the product, guaranteeing its effects within five minutes and including claims that 'with STIFF Strips you can make love
for hours'. The mailings used explicit language to describe the effect of STIFF Strips and testimonials from men who
claimed that the product had dramatically improved their sexual performance. The mailings also claimed that the product
'works on women too'.
The OFT contacted S.I.H.N and requested evidence in support of the claims. The company failed to provide satisfactory
evidence to support any of the claims made in the mailings and agreed to stop selling and promoting STIFF Strips in the
UK.
Two UK based websites, http://www.shy-about-impotence.com and http://www.miraclestiffstrip.com, which also sold STIFF
Strips and which made similarly misleading claims were shut down following approaches from the OFT.
Mike Haley, Head of Consumer Protection at the OFT said: 'We will continue to act against misleading claims that exploit
people's health worries. Consumers should always be sceptical and seek professional medical advice before parting with
any money.'
NOTES
1. Research commissioned by the OFT involving 11,200 interviews found that an estimated 200,000 UK consumers fall victim
to misleading miracle health and slimming cure claims every year, losing around £20 million. (See press release 181/06).
2. The OFT previously obtained assurances from a United States based company, Long Life Consumer SA LLC, that it would
no longer distribute certain mailings advertising its `TerreX` penis enhancement product in the UK. (See press release
40/07).
3. If S.I.H.N were to breach the assurances given, under the European Consumer Protection Co-operation Regulation, which
came into force on 1 January 2007, the OFT could consider referring this matter to its Latvian counterparts, asking them
to take action. (See press release 12/07).
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