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ExtenZe is an herbal nutritional supplement claiming to promote "natural male enhancement", a euphemism for penis enlargement. [1] ExtenZe paid $6 million to settle a class-action false advertising lawsuit in 2010. [2]
Websites selling the product make several more detailed claims, including acquiring a "larger penis". Their enlarging effects are described as "temporary" while under the use of ExtenZe. Early infomercials featured a studio audience and porn star Ron Jeremy. [3] Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson has also appeared in an ExtenZe commercial. [4] ExtenZe makes pills and 2-ounce shots that are sold in over 75,000 retail stores.
The product is manufactured by BIOTAB Nutraceuticals, Inc., [1] and marketed by Maximizer Health Products.
In 2006, ExtenZe agreed to pay the Orange County, California, district attorney's office $300,000 in civil penalties for unfair business practices and false advertising. Susan Kang Schroeder of the DA's office said the company could not back up its claim that the pills caused users' penises to grow by 27%. After several customers in Laguna Beach, California complained to the Better Business Bureau that ExtenZe was making them sick, the district attorney investigated. [5]
ExtenZe maker, Biotab Nutraceuticals, Inc., settled a class action false advertising lawsuit in 2010 for $6 million [2] . The plaintiffs claimed that ExtenZe made deceptive marketing claims about the product enlarging a man’s penis despite lacking credible scientific evidence to support these claims.
ExtenZe's side effects are possibly associated with yohimbe extract. Potential side effects include increased body temperature, increased blood pressure, sweating, increased heart rate, nausea, and upset stomach. Other side effects can include aggression, pounding heart, restlessness, fever, feeling like fainting, hallucinations, muscle twitches or spasms, abnormal behavior, severe headache, bruising easily, shortness of breath, blurred vision, seizures, ringing in the ears, chest pain, confusion, loss of appetite, weight loss, vomiting, insomnia, mild skin rash, nervousness, cold feeling in the feet or hands, tingling or numbness in the feet or hands and difficulty when sleeping. [6]
In 2018, ExtenZe came under scrutiny of the FDA as a certain production lot of ExtenZe Plus was found to contain sildenafil, which is the active ingredient in Viagra. [7]
ExtenZe contains dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which is considered a performance-enhancing drug and is banned by the Olympics and the World Anti-Doping Agency, and in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. [8] In 2010, 400-meter Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt was banned from competition for taking ExtenZe. [9] Merritt apologized, saying that he did not realize that the formulation contained DHEA. Merritt provisionally accepted a two-year ban from competition, although he announced plans to appeal. Sports authorities, however, were not sympathetic:
"Any professional athlete in this sport knows that they are solely responsible for anything that goes into their bodies. For Mr. Merritt to claim inadvertent use of a banned substance due to the ingestion of over-the-counter supplements brings shame to himself and his teammates. Thanks to his selfish actions, he has done damage to our efforts to fight the plague of performance-enhancing drugs in our sport," USA Track and Field CEO Doug Logan said in a press release. [10]
Late in 2011, however, his ban ended and he was cleared to compete in the 2012 Olympics. [11]
ExtenZe sponsored 2010 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Kevin Conway in both NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series from 2009 to 2011. [12] ExtenZe faced legal actions by both of Conway's Cup Series teams in 2010, Front Row Motorsports and Robby Gordon Motorsports, after ExtenZe allegedly paid neither team's sponsorship money. [13] [14] [15] Conway and ExtenZe would join NEMCO Motorsports in 2011. The deal, however, was very limited and unlike Front Row and Robby Gordon, NEMCO was not financially compromised.
It has been reported that the product website lists DHEA as an ingredient.
The following ingredients comprise ExtenZe, as reported on the images of labels on vendor websites:
Although the company claims that the product is completely natural, FDA testing confirmed that one of ExtenZe's variants, ExtenZe Plus, contains traces of sildenafil, a prescription medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction. [7]
A patent medicine is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders and symptoms, as opposed to a prescription drug that could be obtained only through a pharmacist, usually with a doctor's prescription, and whose composition was openly disclosed. Many over-the-counter medicines were once ethical drugs obtainable only by prescription, and thus are not patent medicines.
Tadalafil, sold under the brand name Cialis among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is taken by mouth. Onset is typically within half an hour and the duration is up to 36 hours.
Nootropics, colloquially brain supplements, smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, are natural, semisynthetic or synthetic compounds which purportedly improve cognitive functions, such as executive functions, attention or memory.
Yohimbine, also known as quebrachine, is an indole alkaloid derived from the bark of the African tree Pausinystalia johimbe; also from the bark of the unrelated South American tree Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco. Yohimbine is an α2-adrenergic receptor antagonist, and has been used in a variety of research projects. It is a veterinary drug used to reverse sedation in dogs and deer.
Enzyte is a herbal nutritional supplement originally manufactured by Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals. The marketing of Enzyte resulted in a conviction and prison term for the company's owner and bankruptcy of the company. The product is now marketed by Vianda, LLC of Cincinnati, Ohio. The manufacturer has claimed that Enzyte promotes "natural male enhancement," which is a euphemism for enhancing erectile function. However, its effectiveness has been called into doubt and the claims of the manufacturer have been under scrutiny from various state and federal organizations. Kenneth Goldberg, medical director of the Male Health Center at Baylor University, says, "It makes no sense medically. There's no way that increasing blood flow to the penis, as Enzyte claims to do, will actually increase its size."
POM Wonderful, LLC is a private company which sells an eponymous brand of beverages and fruit extracts. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. Through The Wonderful Company, their holding company, they are also affiliated with Teleflora, FIJI Water, pesticide manufacturer Suterra, and Paramount Agribusiness.
Prasterone, also known as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and sold under the brand name Intrarosa among others, is a medication as well as over-the-counter dietary supplement which is used to correct DHEA deficiency due to adrenal insufficiency or old age, as a component of menopausal hormone therapy, to treat painful sexual intercourse due to vaginal atrophy, and to prepare the cervix for childbirth, among other uses. It is taken by mouth, by application to the skin, in through the vagina, or by injection into muscle.
Vinpocetine is a synthetic derivative of the vinca alkaloid vincamine, differing by the removal of a hydroxyl group and by being the ethyl rather than the methyl ester of the underlying carboxylic acid. Vincamine is extracted from either the seeds of Voacanga africana or the leaves of Vinca minor.
NEMCO Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. NEMCO Motorsports has had success, winning the 1992 Busch Series Championship. The team previously competed in both Cup and Xfinity Series competition. NEMCO currently competes in late models.
Hydroxycut is a brand of dietary supplements that is marketed as a weight loss aid. Hydroxycut was originally developed and manufactured by MuscleTech Research and Development; MuscleTech was sold to Iovate Health Sciences in 2003–2004 and declared bankruptcy in 2005; Iovate continues to use MuscleTech as a brand to market Hydroxycut.
Kevin Conway is an American professional stock car racing driver who currently races in the Blancpain Super Trofeo Championship. He is the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year (ROTY), 2014 Super Trofeo World Champion, and two-time North American Super Trofeo Series Champion. Conway has raced in motocross, legends, the World Karting Association, United States Automobile Club (USAC), American Speed Association (ASA), NASCAR's regional K&N Pro Series West, and all three of NASCAR's national touring series.
LaShawn Merritt is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him the ninth fastest of all time.
Dexatrim is an over-the-counter (OTC) dietary supplement meant to assist with weight loss. Dexatrim claims it "gives you the power to lose weight, curb binges, and keep you in control of your diet." Current Dexatrim products available are in capsule form and include Dexatrim Max Complex 7, Dexatrim Max Daytime Appetite Control, Dexatrim Natural Green Tea, and Dexatrim Natural Extra Energy. The major active ingredients found in current Dexatrim products include caffeine, green tea extract, Asian (Panax) ginseng root extract, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
Protandim is a herbal dietary supplement marketed with unsupported claims that it can treat a number of medical conditions. The product is a patented mix of five herbal ingredients and sold by LifeVantage Corporation, a Utah-based multi-level marketing company. The manufacturers of Protandim claim it can prevent or cure a wide variety of medical conditions. In 2017, LifeVantage was issued a warning letter by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding illegal advertising claims on the company's websites suggesting that Protandim can help to cure various ailments, including cancer and diabetes.
Herbal viagra is a herbal product advertised as treating erectile dysfunction. Many different products are advertised as herbal viagra, but with varying ingredients. No clinical trials or scientific studies support the effectiveness of any of these ingredients for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and some products have been found to contain drugs and other adulterants, and have been the subject of FDA and FTC warnings and actions to remove them from the market.
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In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The foremost championships to be held in 2010 included: the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2010 European Athletics Championships, 2010 African Championships in Athletics, and Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Sulfoaildenafil (thioaildenafil) is a synthetic drug that is a structural analog of sildenafil (Viagra). It was first reported in 2005, and it is not approved by any health regulation agency. Like sildenafil, sulfoaildenafil is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 ("DSHEA"), is a 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation which defines and regulates dietary supplements. Under the act, supplements are regulated by the FDA for Good Manufacturing Practices under 21 CFR Part 111. The act was intended to exempt the dietary and herbal supplement industry from most FDA drug regulations, allowing them to be sold and marketed without scientific backing for their health and medical claims.
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