Saturday, February 4, 2012

Super Bowl, Super Hype, Super Violative NFL Promotion of Mild Hyperbaric Bag

We've grown accustomed to people hawking mild hyperbaric bags on the web with utter disregard for applicable laws against off-label promotion. Manufacturers, resellers, entrepreneurs, fraudsters, quacks—they fight amongst themselves for the attention of unsuspecting healthcare consumers. It's a brisk trade.

Now the National Football League has published this video testimonial by Cleveland Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. It crosses a line. By posting its 28 December profile of Jackson, the League has become complicit in the violative promotion of a medical device.

The NFL has not yet responded to our repeated email and voicemail messages.

Again, we concur with the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology's April 2011 position statement on Portable, Low-pressure, Fabric Hyperbaric Chambers. See our recent posts from 30 January, "Football Injury Rehab: Bad Information Sparks Silly Debate About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy," and 22 January, "NFL Divisional Playoffs: Which Players Are Using Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers?" Learn more about hyperbaric chamber manufacturers and hyperbaric chamber types on HyperbaricLink.com.

CAUTION: The following promotional video clearly violates FDA regulations. Portable, inflatable, fabric chambers are FDA-cleared for acute mountain sickness only. They're not safe for unattended self-treatment at home. They're certainly not safe to sleep in. And no hyperbaric chamber is approved for the treatment of Jackson's torn pectoral muscles or other such sports-related injuries.

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