This past July America’s leading medical board, The American Medical Association, formally announced their condemnation of the rampant use of altered and distorted images and their portrayal of impossibly ideal human figures and faces in large scale advertising campaigns. The main reason is that in recent years health professionals have been witnessing a dramatic climb in the number of problems related to negative body image in the general public. And now the U.S. government is going after the falsified scientific claims of the big cosmetics companies and their age-defying wrinkle creams. The Food and Drug Administration send out warning letters to Avon and Lancôme and at least two other companies, with a strict warning “threatening to block sales or even seize their products if they don’t tone down their ads.” Dr. Tina Alster used to be a consultant for the snake oil salesmen at Lancôme, until she had her fill with the deceptive claims that permeate the cosmetics industry. In an interview with CBS This Morning Alster reveals, “It’s surprising that they didn’t react to these claims before.” Both Avon and Lancôme announced they are “working with the FDA to resolve the advertising issue.” The FDA sent out their letters to the companies on Tuesday, and executives have 15 days to respond.
