FTC Hits First ‘iV Cocktails’ Seller

The FDA has charged A & O Enterprises (dba iV Bars), a seller of intravenously injected therapy products (iV Cocktails), with making a range of deceptive and unsupported health claims about their ability to treat serious diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and congestive heart failure. This is the first company the FTC has targeted for such products. A proposed FTC order settling the claims prohibits the company, which operates a string of clinics in Texas and Colorado, and its owner from making such claims, unless they can be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

“The iV Cocktails, which were advertised as an alternative to traditional medical therapy, are actually a simple mix of water, vitamins, minerals, and herbs injected directly into the bloodstream for between $100 and $250 per ‘treatment,’” an FTC release says. “This enforcement action should send a clear message to the burgeoning iV therapy industry and sellers of all healthcare products,” FTC chair Joe Simons is quoted in the release as saying.