Advertising and Marketing

The advertising and marketing of all health products and products that make health claims are strictly regulated in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), depending on the nature of the product.

Dietary supplements and foods that are marketed with health claims are regulated by the FDA as foods rather than as drugs. Dietary supplements are defined by law as products that are not intended as conventional food; are ingested in pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid form; and contain a vitamin, mineral, nontobacco plant product, amino acid, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, or extract of any of the above. Three substances that do not fit this description are additionally regulated as dietary supplements under U.S. federal ...