Fair Trade Commission Guidelines on Cases of Weight Loss and Body Care Activities	Guidelines

Passed by the 777th Commissioners' Meeting on September 28, 2006
Promulgated by Order (95) Kung San Tzu No. 0950008783 on October 12, 2006

1. (Purpose)
   These guidelines ("Guidelines") are enacted by the Fair Trade Commission, Executive Yuan (Cabinet) (hereinafter called the "FTC") to maintain trading order, protect consumer's rights and interests, and efficiently handle cases involving weight loss and body care.
   
2. (Definition)
   The term "weight loss and body care" set forth in these Guidelines shall refer to a non-medical treatment with comprehensive instructions and measures carried out by hand, machine, tools, materials, cosmetics and food to maintain or improve physical or visual beauty.
   
3. (Coordination with Other Agencies)
   Complaints involving weight loss and body care shall be initially received by the Department of Health, Executive Yuan (Cabinet) (hereinafter called "DOH"). DOH shall directly handle these complaints subject to health regulations and laws. With regards to complaints not involving treatment effectiveness, DOH shall provide professional authentication opinions regarding whether the complaints involve exaggerated, untrue or misleading representations prior to transferring such cases to the FTC to handle in accordance with the Fair Trade Law.
   
4. (Types of False, Untrue or Misleading Representations or Symbols)
   In the event that the representation or symbol of a weight loss and body care advertisement meets any of the following descriptions, such an advertisement shall be false, untrue or misleading as prescribed in Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law:
   
   1. using any exaggerated or misleading word to claim the effect of a product or service without any medical or clinical basis: uproot fat, eliminate fat, dissolve fate, sculpt fat, burn fat, shatter fat, break down accumulated fat, avoid fat accumulation, facilitate dissolution of fat, enhance metabolism of fat, soften fat, suppress fat absorption, facilitate dissolution or contraction of fat cells, facilitate lymph metabolism, lymph circulation, remove toxicant, or shatter toxicant remaining in the body.
      
   2. claiming any of the following effects when no medical equipment, tools, material, clothing or handcraft subject to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law is employed and without any medical or clinical basis:
      
      1. No intense exercise is required to lose weight or reduce the size of waist, belly, thigh, and leg within short period of time
         
      2. It is able to stimulate breast growth or prevent, improve or eliminate shrinking, sagging or drooping breasts.
         
      3. It is able to increase height within short period of time
   3. employing real person advertisement to describe the effect without clearly explaining the program and products taken to achieve such effect, time required for general consumer, percentage of success or failure, and relevant scientific bases
      
   4. No anticipated effects will be achieved during the claimed period of time in the advertisement.
5. (Comparative Advertisement)
   In the event that the contents of a weight loss and body care advertisement are made in comparison, such an advertisement might be in violation of Articles 19(ii), 22 or 24 of the Fair Trade Law if false, untrue or misleading representations are made regarding another person's product or service though no false statement is made regarding its own product or service.
   
6. (Other Deceptive or Obviously Unfair Actions)
   The marketing measure of a weight loss and body care enterprise shall violate Article 24 of the Fair Trade Law if falling under any of the following descriptions, which are deceptive or obviously unfair actions sufficient to affect trading order:
   
   1. employing promotions in the advertisement such as preferential or low prices or complimentary products to attract the consumer but considerably increasing other costs afterwards, causing differences in the expenses originally recognized or anticipated by the consumer
      
   2. failing to expressly inform the scope of trial to the consumer accepting free trials according to the advertisement and trading with such a consumer before completing the trial as well as using the opportunity to collect fees
      
   3. promoting for any activity that will increase the expenses during the provision of weight loss and body care services, or collecting extra charges than originally agreed; forcing or bothering the consumer to accept promotions that will increase the expenses when the consumer is embarrassed or in the middle of the weight loss and body care services; or promoting other programs of the same nature prior to the completion of the original program
7. (Penalty)
   Liability in case of violation of the Fair Trade Law:
   
   1. In accordance with Article 41 of the Fair Trade Law, the Fair Trade Commission may order any enterprise that violates any of the provisions of the same Law to cease therefrom, rectify its conduct or take necessary corrective action within the time prescribed in the order; in addition, it may impose upon such enterprise an administrative fine of not less than fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars (NT$50,000) nor more than twenty-five million New Taiwan Dollars (NT$25,000,000,). Shall such enterprise fails to cease therefrom, rectify the conduct or take any necessary corrective action after the lapse of the prescribed period, the Fair Trade Commission may continue to order such enterprise to cease therefrom, rectify the conduct or take any necessary corrective action within the time prescribed in the order, and each time may successively impose thereupon an administrative fine of not less than one hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars (NT$100,000) nor more than fifty million New Taiwan Dollars (NT$50,000,000) until its ceasing therefrom, rectifying its conduct or taking the necessary corrective action.
      
   2. In the event that any enterprise violates the Fair Trade Law, in addition to the aforementioned administrative liabilities or other criminal liabilities, the victim may also seek for compensation in accordance with Chapter Five of the same Law.
8. (Order to Publish Corrective Advertisement)
   If a corrective advertisement may prevent, eliminate or remedy the harm caused by an enterprise that violates Article 21(1) or (3) of the Law, the FTC may order such an enterprise to do so. The FTC shall follow the "Fair Trade Commission Guidelines on Ordering Enterprises to Publish Corrective Advertisements" to handle the matter.
   
9. These Guidelines merely list several possible violations of the Law involving weight loss and body care cases. Individual cases shall be handled respectively based upon the actual and specific facts.