Consumer Protection

Games, Drawings, and Similar Contests. An obvious and frequently used advertising method is the sweepstakes or game-type promotion. The merchant tries to induce the customer to enter into a contest or drawing. Where a sales promotion plan is involved, as is usual, American regulators has taken the position that there must be disclosure of the numerical odds of winning a prize, the approximate values of the prizes, the fact that all announced prizes will be awarded, and that they have been in fact been awarded.

Requirements of Packaging and Labeling

What appears on the product label or package may be as important from a consumer rights viewpoint as the advertising that promotes its sale. In America, many federal laws have dealt with this area in recent years. They include the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, the Fair Products, Labeling Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act; the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act; and the Flammable Fabrics Act. In addition, various federal and state laws forbid the use of such deceptive terms ad “full,” “jumbo size,” “giant size,” or “family size” in describing package dimensions. Such terms, it is held, create the impression that more is contained in the package that is actually there.

Under pressure and as a result of legislation, merchants have increasingly dated their products. They have tended more and more to describe contents in terms of commonly understood weights and measures—to avoid deceiving the consumer.

Legislation now requires specifics on labels. The Fair Products Labeling Act, for example, requires that a product bear a label stating the identity of the product, the name and place of business of manufacturer, the packer or distributor, the net quantity of all of the contents, and the net quantity of one serving when the number of servings is stated on the label. In addition, the State has the authority to require more information or additional disclosures on a label. Radio and TV ads on ointments, powdered leaves, capsules with claims to cure all sicknesses are very misleading.

Where food, drugs, and cosmetics are involved, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates labeling and packaging. “Quackery” in medicine and drugs and the so-called “miracle drug” claims also come under the policing power of the FDA.