Brief by Central Staff
Herbal healing – May 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Hot tea may be good for you, but not so good that it cures cancer.
So said the Federal Trade Commission on April 5, when it ordered Michael D. Miller of Crestone, who was doing business as Natural Heritage Enterprises, to make some changes on his website and to refund $7,500 to his customers.
According to the FTC, Miller used deceptive methods to promote Essiac herbal tea, a blend supposedly concocted by the Ojibway Indians.
The site was rigged so that when you gave “cancer cure” to a search engine, it would take you to his www.remedies.net. It had links to sites with testimonials about Essiac’s alleged curative qualities — sites that looked independent, but were actually maintained by Miller.
Further, passing a mouse over one image would pop up “Cures cancer, leukemia, lymphoma. Cures lupus, breast, prostrate cancer,” according to the FTC.
Since Essiac has not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration as a medicine, it’s illegal to advertise it as a cure for anything.