Cold 'Remedy' Firm Settles Suit for $23M

Herbal supplement company Airborne will pay $23.3 million to settle a class-action suit alleging false advertising but won't say it did anything wrong, CNNMoney reports. At issue was the company's claim its pills could cure colds. Airborne denies “any wrongdoing or illegal conduct,” but it will give customers their money back, said the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a plaintiff.

“Airborne is basically an overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that's been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed,” said a CSPI nutritionist. Airborne’s website says the pill “boosts the immune system,” but “there’s no credible evidence” for that, said the nutritionist. The current claim replaced statements that Airborne cured colds after questions arose about clinical trials. (More Airborne stories.)