The maker of Airborne - the herbal supplement once claimed to help fight off colds - will pay $23.3 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company for false advertising. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI), one of the groups that joined the lawsuit, a non-profit advocacy group, says the company will refund money to consumers who bought Airborne’s product. It will pay for advertisements in major publications instructing consumers how to get refunded, the report added. CSPI Senior nutritionist David Schardt has this to say:

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.

According to the company’s Web site, Airborne was created by a second-grade school teacher, Victoria Knight-McDowell, who “studied the benefits of herbal therapies used in Eastern Medicine.” The site says Airborne “boosts the immune system with seven herbal extracts and a proprietary blend of vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids and antioxidants.” Airborne Inc., Airborne Health Inc. and Knight-McDowell Labs were among the defendants in the lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California in U.S. District Court. A hearing to consider final approval of the settlement is scheduled for June 16th. I must confess that I really believed Airborne worked in helping avoid colds, but looking back, I realize it has little effect.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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