You've heard the ads and seen the billboards all across Southern California. For the first time, the people behind the "1-800-Get-Thin" ads are in the hot seat.
First, federal authorities told the company to shape up. Now, Los Angeles County officials are grilling them and demanding changes. "1-800-Get-Thin" has been accused of misleading advertising.
"You are hiding something. I get that feeling," said Zev Yaroslavsky, chairman of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
The hearing to discuss the ads on Tuesday got heated with supervisors and representatives of the marketing company going head-to-head.
"I feel that some of your questions have been trying to place me in some kind of corner as to how I can answer them," said the company's CEO Robert Silverman at the hearing.
1-800-Get-Thin is the marketing firm that promotes the medical lap-band weight loss surgery on billboards and advertisements throughout Southern California. Recently, the firm was charged with false advertising by the Food and Drug Administration, saying the billboards did not do enough to disclose the hazards and risks of the operation.
"Risky and in some instances, unsafe procedures, do need to be called out," said Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas of the county's Third District.
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Five Southern California patients have died since 2009 following lap-band procedures at clinics affiliated with 1-800-Get-Thin. But the company cites a state report, saying that it has a significantly smaller fatality rate than hospitals that also do the surgery.
And today, while supervisors voiced frustration that they couldn't get a clear picture of the firm's relationship with surgery centers, the marketing firm's executives claim all they do is connect clients, who are medically obese, with doctors who perform the surgery. They also say they advise their clients of the risks.
"Take a look at every single ad that they have," said the company's attorney Brian Oxman. "It has that disclosure. We meet the gold standard. And, if the county or FDA wants more, we are here to comply."
Some county supervisors were upset that the company did not go into detail about how they refer obese customers to surgery centers and doctors. In the meantime, they advised the staff to lobby in Sacramento for new legislation that would give the state more control and authority over outpatient surgery centers, including the lap band.
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