TriKlenz by LeBlanc's Natural Products - Canada

"Used be millions in health clinics with 90% success"
(Yes it's their typo, not mine!!)

Click the advertisement to view. This TriKlenz advertisement appeared in the Toronto SUN - September 28, 2002 on page 35. The company's web site is www.pnleblanc.com. Yet another herbal diet scam from Canada. It's getting pretty boring up here, but one thing is predictable, there will almost always be a large advertisement in the weekend Toronto SUN. WARNING THIS ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR WALLET!!

Words that tell you that it's most likely a scam --- Amazing Results --- "I lost 50 pounds!" --- Safe - Simple - Effective --- 100% Natural --- I lost 50 pounds in 3 months --- Most weight related problems are caused by an accumulation of toxins --- It's a fact, you can't maintain a healthy weight if your digestive system is clogged with toxins.

The LeBlanc company is in Brossard, Quebec, Canada. This TriKlenz formula is actually three herbal products. One is for your liver, and the others for your kidney and intestines. Yup, it's nothing more than a bunch of herbs. If you like taking senna, a laxative, you'll love this stuff. I wonder about formulas like this. There are claims for effectiveness that are too numerous to individually evaluate. When they are mixed together willy-nilly, who knows what to expect. If I were you I'd invest in about a gross of toilet paper, just in case you don't make it to the market this weekend. After all, if you want to lose 50 pounds in 3 months.........

Oh we wonder about whether there really is a "doctor" attached to the "Dr" on the label. They say it's someone named Yves LeBlanc. Since there is grave doubt about the product, what about the person whose name is right there on the box?

Their web site implies that Yves is a doctor of phytotherapy, and acupuncture in Quebec. Where did LeBlanc get the doctorate? Are phytotherapists or naturopaths regulated in Quebec? If so, are they allowed to use the "Dr." before their name. The LeBlanc web site is full of claims for herbs that in large part have not been supported through good scientific research. In fact, some of the claims may be bogus. Also, I don't see any warnings on the web page site about interactions, allergies, side effects, etc. Of course Health Canada won't regulate these things effectively (see below)

I suggest going directly to their web page and make up your own mind about the ingredients. Print out the advertisement, spelling errors and all, and see if you want to invest $89.95 in this stuff. When I went to their web site on April 14, 2003 the price for Triklenz was down to $59.95. I guess they needed to lower the price to compete with the other herbal remedies out there.

Why don't you go into one of these stores and ask to speak to the pharmacist and ask them in bloody plain language what is in this stuff, and how this stuff cleans out your toxins. If they can't answer that, tell them you would like them to stop selling it. This should do wonders for their bottom line, which as far as I am concerned is something that they all think about. But, when it comes to putting this stuff on their shelves, they couldn't give a rats ass about it in the first place. Why in the world would these reputable drug stores provide shelf space for these concoctions? Is it because they make money, or because they just don't give a damn about what they sell?

If anyone has ordered this product and would like to share their experience please contact us via e-mail. Remember, save your receipts, and don't throw anything away. We'd also be interested in hearing from consumers who have seen this product advertised. Let us know where you've seen it.

"Do Nothing" Policies

OUR GOVERNMENTS' "DO NOTHING" POLICIES ENCOURAGE REPEAT FLIM-FLAMS

When is the government of Canada going to take action against the newspapers and the companies who market this junk on unsuspecting consumers.

We demand a complete investigation why the government has failed to take action against any of these companies. The diet and weight loss scam industry is worth billions in North America, and much of it comes from Canada. In other words our country is a safe-haven for hundreds of scam artists who use the internet and advertise freely in newspapers without fear of investigation by our governement. Someone right now stands to make millions operating from the safety of Toronto, right under the noses of Health Canada and the Ontario government consumer protection branch.

We appeal to the ASC, the government, both Provincial and Federal to take control of the fraud artists that are preying on the public. Right now, Canada is the laughing stock of the world when it comes to the control of health quackery.

We will continue to do everything possible to educate the Canadian public about scam artists and rogue health care providers on our web sites. But, it seems clear from where I sit, that our governments just doesn't care about false advertising, health scams and the dangerous products that come into our country. They also don't care about mailorder scams that originate here, but are often part of an underground cash-filled pipeline to some island in the Lesser Antilles.

The world of health fraud on the internet includes dozens of other stories, some of them are very serious and involve doctors who are try to ship quack cancer drugs out of Canada into the U.S. That's another story, one that we will cover later on.

Office of Natural Health Products

What did the government do about diet and health fraud? Late last year, they decided to form a new office, a spin-off of Health Canada. They appointed a dozen or so people to a transition team, the overwhelming majority supposedly represented the cream of the crop who work in companies that supply Canada with vitamins, herbs, and other alternative health products. These are the very people who can't prove that their products work, who can't prove that there products are safe, and yet the government appoints them to a transition team to set up standards in the natural and herbal product industry.

While the company that sells this particular product featured in this article is unknown, it is a prime example of what the government has failed to do. Having an Office of Natural Health Products is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.

Why hasn't Health Canada or the police visited the vendors, and their associates to see what is really going on. Where is the money going from their profits? Is it being laundered overseas?

We Demand that Action be Taken Now!

Our web sites will cover the story of government failure to control the false claims made in major publications, on the internet, on the radio and televison info-mercials until something is done.

Terry Polevoy, MD
DietFraud.com
65 University Ave. East, Unit 10A
Waterloo, ON  N2J 2V9