Announced Actions for December 5, 2000

Commission denial of petition requesting a rulemaking proceeding:

Following review of a petition submitted to the FTC, the Commission has voted to deny the request for a rulemaking proceeding regarding the following: Certain issues relating to the advertising of dietary supplements. Dr. Julian M. Whitaker, Pure Encapsulations, Inc., Imagenetix, Inc. and XCEL Pharmacy, Ltd. submitted a petition to the FTC requesting that the Commission promulgate either: 1) a rule regarding advisory opinions on the adequacy of substantiation for advertising claims for dietary supplements or; 2) a rule further defining the principles of substantiation for such claims. Following a review of the petition, the Commission has voted to deny the request. The FTC has also sent a letter to the parties 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. P004501; staff contact is Michelle K. Rusk, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3148).

Consent agreements given final approval:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following: Tyco International Ltd. The Commission vote to finalize the consent order was 5-0. (File No. 001-0208; staff contact is Ann Malester, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2820; see press release dated October 17, 2000.)

Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following and issued a response letter to a commentor: FirstPlus Financial Group, Inc. The Commission vote to finalize the consent order was 5-0, with Chairman Robert Pitofsky and Commissioners Mozelle W. Thompson and Thomas B. Leary issuing a separate joint statement. (File No. 992-3121; staff contact is William L. Haynes, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3107; see press release dated August 17, 2000.)

Publication of Federal Register notice:

The Commission has approved the publication of a Federal Register notice regarding the following: Revision of Part 0 of the FTC's Rules of Practice. As explained in the notice, which will be published shortly, the Commission has updated and made other technical corrections and revisions to the general description of the agency's organization and activities found in Part 0 of the FTC's Rule of Practice. These revisions reflect miscellaneous changes in various organizational responsibilities, as well as other clarifications and revisions concerning the Commission's: 1) official address; 2) laws administered; 3) delegations; 4) general organizational structure; 5) Executive Director; 6) Secretary; 7) Inspector General; 8) Administrative Law Judges; 9) Bureau of Competition; 10) Bureau of Consumer Protection; and 11) regional offices. The revisions, which are not subject to a public comment period, will be become final upon publication of the notice. The Commission vote to publish the Federal Register notice was 5-0. (File No. P859900; staff contact is Alex Tang, Office of the General Counsel, 202-326-2447.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.