Popping the Airborne Bubble

Airborne was originally developed by a second grade school teacher. The product began flying off the shelf after being featured on Oprah. Since its introduction people have been using it to fight colds, prevent colds and boost their immune system. The problem here is there is currently no scientific evidence Airborne is effective for any of these uses. Furthermore, the company has previously used deceptive advertising to convince people this product was effective for colds. As a result this product has achieved $100 million per year in sales.

The first sign that Airborne is a gimmick is the statement on the package “ Created by a school teacher”. How is it possible a school teacher can develop a product to treat a cold when millions of doctors, scientist, university research centers and pharmaceutical manufacturers have been unsuccessful. If it were possible to create a product that did effectively treat or prevent a cold, the sales would be much higher than Airborne’s because the medical community would stand behind it.

A close look at the package reveals more evidence. The original package (it was recently redesigned) stated “take at first sign of a cold symptom or before entering crowded environments”. This statement has since been removed from the updated package. Now the package states “Helps support your immune system”. The company has backed away from claiming effectiveness in treating a cold. If they had proof it helps prevent a cold, they would not remove this original statement in favor of a claim that is more vague. Also, claiming to support your immune system does not mean it will help fight a cold.

Reviewing the ingredients reveals a bunch of vitamins, minerals and herbs. None of these has been proven to reduce the frequency, duration or severity of a cold. The two ingredients with the best track record are Vitamin C and Echinacea. Both of these have some studies showing a benefit in cold treatment but there are numerous studies showing no benefit. I once attended a lecture which cited a study showing increased immune system activity after taking echinacea but this did not translate to improved outcomes. Boosting the immune system did not treat the cold in this study. The national library of medicine website has a great information page for Vitamin C (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-vitaminc.html) and one for Echinacea(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-echinacea.html).

Further evidence against Airborne is the study they once referenced on both the old package and on the website. The study was done by GNG Pharmaceutical Services which according to ABC news was started up just to do the Airborne study. You can read the ABC news article here. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1664514&page=1

One more thing. The original formula contained 5000 IU of Vitamin A with the instructions to take every 3 hours. The upper safe limit of Vitamin A is 10 000 IU daily. This original formula could have resulted in up to 40 000 IU daily of Vitamin A which is 4 times the safe limit. Vitamin A overdose can be serious resulting in hair loss, liver problems, muscle pain and much more. They have since decreased the Vitamin A content to 2000 IU per dose with instruction not to exceed 3 doses per day. This company obviously had not done enough research to provide a safe product. This information could have been discovered in a few minutes at the local library but they marketed a potentially toxic product.

It is difficult to believe they have done enough research to prove effectiveness if they failed to provide for safety in the original product. Also, they provide no evidence they have studied the new formula for effectiveness. Even if the old formula had been effective, new research needs to be done to prove the new one is as effective as the previous one.

Finally, the makers of Airborne has settled a $ 23 million class action lawsuit due to deceptive advertising. Read the story here. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdFlu/Story?id=4380374&page=1

Here are a couple more places for more in depth information.

http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2006/04/created-by-school-teacher.html

and

http://purplekangaroopuzzle.blogspot.com/2006/01/airborne-cold-remedy-helpful-dangerous.html

Conclusion

If you want to fight a cold you need to keep your immune system strong. Here are proven ways to keep your immune system healthy.

• Get your sleep. (7 to 8 hours a night)
• Exercise
• Eat healthy including lots of fruits and vegetables
• Drink plenty of water

There is no magic bullet in preventing a cold. If you take something like Airborne and do not get a cold it is most likely because you were not going to get it anyway. There are millions of people who did not get a cold today.

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