Combo Packaging of TheraFlu, Emergen-C Misleads Consumers About Vitamin C, Class Action Says

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

The maker of TheraFlu and Emergen-C faces a proposed class action that claims the co-packaging of the products leads consumers to expect that vitamin C supplement Emergen-C is as effective at treating cold and flu symptoms as TheraFlu.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The 12-page lawsuit says that TheraFlu, which contains active over-the-counter (OTC) ingredients proven to alleviate cold and flu symptoms, is sometimes sold in a so-called “convenience pack” alongside Emergen-C, whose front label reads “Immune+” and “Super Orange” and states that the supplement contains a “Proprietary Complex” of “1,000 mg Vitamin C.”

However, the suit relays that a fine-print disclaimer on Emergen-C’s back label reveals that the product is “not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease” and that the front-label statements “have not been evaluated by the [Food and Drug Administration].”

The case argues that by co-packaging the two products, the manufacturer—GSK Consumer Health, Inc.—has misled consumers into believing that Emergen-C is intended to be used alongside TheraFlu, and that it will provide similar therapeutic benefits as the FDA-approved cold-and-flu product.

Though most consumers believe vitamin C is effective against cold and flu symptoms, clinical research indicates that this is not true, as vitamin C has time and again “failed to demonstrate any reduction in severity or duration of symptoms associated with colds, flu and a runny nose,” the complaint explains.

According to the filing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow vitamin C and other botanical ingredients to be included within the formulations of OTC medications because the agency determined that doing so would mislead consumers about the efficacy of vitamin C.

The plaintiff, a New York resident, has purchased the co-packaged products in recent years and believed, based on the front-label representations, that the vitamin C supplement was intended to be taken alongside TheraFlu and would be similarly effective against cold and flu symptoms, the suit says. Per the case, the woman would not have paid as much for the convenience pack, or bought it at all, had she known that the packaging misrepresented Emergen-C’s efficacy.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone residing in New York, Idaho, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi or Utah who purchased a co-packaged unit containing TheraFlu and Emergen-C within the applicable statute of limitations period.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.