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Commission denial of petition requesting a rulemaking proceeding: Following a review of a petition submitted to the FTC, the Commission has voted to deny the request for a rulemaking proceeding regarding the Commission’s procedures in nonpublic investigations of health-related advertising. The First Amendment Health Freedom Association, a coalition of manufacturers and consumers of dietary supplements, submitted the petition to the FTC requesting that the Commission issue rules requiring the FTC staff, when investigating health-related advertising, to: 1) evaluate the scientific evidence before initiating the investigation; 2) identify the specific advertising content that the staff considers to be misleading and the basis for that belief in the initial access letter or civil investigative demand (CID); 3) identify, at the earliest possible point in the investigation, the specific grounds for the staff’s belief that the substantiation is inadequate; and 4) issue warning letters to advertisers as a primary enforcement mechanism, rather than initiating formal investigations by access letter or CID.

Following a review of the petition, the Commission has voted to deny the request. The FTC also has sent a letter to the petitioner detailing its reasons for doing so. The Commission vote to deny the petition and send a letter to the parties was 5-0. (File No. P034515; contact: Division of Advertising Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3090.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.