March 2007
Docs in ads
Friends or faux?
WHO ARE THESE GUYS? We clipped ads, including these, and tried to find out about the M.D.s. who endorse the products.
Ever see the doctors in ads for diet pills or products to enhance sexual pleasure and wonder who they are? So did we. We pulled
nine print ads and tried to identify the folks in the white coats. We checked licensing through state medical boards, and
to learn if the doctor was board-certified, we checked through the American Board of Medical Specialties.
What we found. The ad docs were indeed M.D.s. But there were a couple of incongruous pairings--an OB-GYN endorsing Heavy Air shoes for weight loss and a psychiatry resident pitching a fat-burning supplement.
Among the other doctors was a man in a print ad for Magna-RX+, a cream to increase penis size. He was identified as "the genius behind Magna-RX+": George Aguilar, M.D., a "board certified urologist" and member of "the College of Urology." We couldn't find a George Aguilar practicing medicine in the U.S., but the manufacturer verified that he's a board-certified doctor in Mexico and documented that he's a paid endorser, though not the product's creator.
A doctor who endorses the weight-loss supplement Hydroxycut received her M.D. from Yale University, wrote a fitness book ("Look Hot, Live Long"), and appeared on the cover of Playboy's Hardbodies and in the movie "Vampires of Sorority Row." Hydroxycut says she's now in Canada, where she operates a health and wellness consulting practice. We were unable to obtain contact information for her.
Rent-a-doc. Some doctors are very familiar with offers to plug a product for pay. "I'm approached all the time," says Michael Fiorillo, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon in Rockland County, N.Y. Fiorillo himself appears in an ad for an eye cream of his own creation. Among offers he says he has turned down are endorsements for hair regrowth products, herbal erectile-dysfunction remedies, varicose-vein treatments, and pills to increase breast size.
The American Medical Association has no policy prohibiting physicians from giving paid endorsements, though it has guidelines for participation in advertising. "It's an individual decision, but we urge physicians to use their judgment because of the impact that it can have on patients," says Ed Langston, M.D., chair-elect of the AMA board of trustees and a family physician in Lafayette, Ind.
What about ads that say "recommended by a leading neurologist," with no identification? "Even if the ad doesn't picture or name a doctor, the company has to have a neurologist on record saying he recommends the product," says Heather Hippsley, assistant director for the Division of Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates advertising. It's at the company's discretion who that doctor is and what makes him or her "leading."
The same goes for "4 out 5 doctors recommend" claims. Manufacturers can survey any doctors they choose, as long as they keep records.
CR's take. Take doctors' endorsements with a grain of salt. They're paid appearances--a form of "medical moonlighting." To see if a doctor is board-certified, go to www.abms.org, site of the American Board of Medical Specialties. To check whether someone is a licensed M.D., you can link to all state medical boards on www.docfinder.org, but in some cases you'll need to know what state issued the license.
What we found. The ad docs were indeed M.D.s. But there were a couple of incongruous pairings--an OB-GYN endorsing Heavy Air shoes for weight loss and a psychiatry resident pitching a fat-burning supplement.
Among the other doctors was a man in a print ad for Magna-RX+, a cream to increase penis size. He was identified as "the genius behind Magna-RX+": George Aguilar, M.D., a "board certified urologist" and member of "the College of Urology." We couldn't find a George Aguilar practicing medicine in the U.S., but the manufacturer verified that he's a board-certified doctor in Mexico and documented that he's a paid endorser, though not the product's creator.
A doctor who endorses the weight-loss supplement Hydroxycut received her M.D. from Yale University, wrote a fitness book ("Look Hot, Live Long"), and appeared on the cover of Playboy's Hardbodies and in the movie "Vampires of Sorority Row." Hydroxycut says she's now in Canada, where she operates a health and wellness consulting practice. We were unable to obtain contact information for her.
Rent-a-doc. Some doctors are very familiar with offers to plug a product for pay. "I'm approached all the time," says Michael Fiorillo, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon in Rockland County, N.Y. Fiorillo himself appears in an ad for an eye cream of his own creation. Among offers he says he has turned down are endorsements for hair regrowth products, herbal erectile-dysfunction remedies, varicose-vein treatments, and pills to increase breast size.
The American Medical Association has no policy prohibiting physicians from giving paid endorsements, though it has guidelines for participation in advertising. "It's an individual decision, but we urge physicians to use their judgment because of the impact that it can have on patients," says Ed Langston, M.D., chair-elect of the AMA board of trustees and a family physician in Lafayette, Ind.
What about ads that say "recommended by a leading neurologist," with no identification? "Even if the ad doesn't picture or name a doctor, the company has to have a neurologist on record saying he recommends the product," says Heather Hippsley, assistant director for the Division of Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates advertising. It's at the company's discretion who that doctor is and what makes him or her "leading."
The same goes for "4 out 5 doctors recommend" claims. Manufacturers can survey any doctors they choose, as long as they keep records.
CR's take. Take doctors' endorsements with a grain of salt. They're paid appearances--a form of "medical moonlighting." To see if a doctor is board-certified, go to www.abms.org, site of the American Board of Medical Specialties. To check whether someone is a licensed M.D., you can link to all state medical boards on www.docfinder.org, but in some cases you'll need to know what state issued the license.
