Jump to full article: AP, 2001-04-09
Intro: Air Purifier Maker Alpine Fined
The Associated Press
Monday, April 9, 2001; 7:08 p.m. EDT
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. –– A federal judge Monday ordered Alpine Industries Inc. to pay nearly $1.5 million for making unsupported claims about the health benefits of its ozone-generating air treatment machines.
U.S. Magistrate Dennis Inman ruled the Greeneville-based company violated a 1995 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission to stop making claims about its air purifiers without "competent and reliable scientific evidence."
The magistrate fined the company $1,000, plus interest, for every day between the 1995 order and a U.S. District Court jury verdict against the company in 1999.
The jury found no support for Alpine's claims that its $400 to $625 machines relieve allergies and other breathing problems, though it did find evidence the machines could remove tobacco smoke and some odors. [This graph only]
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