Sharing Young Living Right

The U.S. and most other countries have regulations in place designed to protect consumers. Many of these specifically regulate how natural wellness companies like Young Living market themselves. These regulations help make sure that companies are making true, safe claims about their products. To help protect you and us, here are some quick tips for getting the word out about Young Living products without putting yourself or Young Living at legal risk. Things to Avoid Avoid making health-related claims about Young Living products that are misleading, not true, or can’t be backed up by scientific studies. All product claims should be truthful, not misleading, and should be backed by scientific evidence. Never claim or suggest that our products can cure, alleviate, treat, prevent, or diagnose a disease, symptom, or injury. These types of claims are called “disease claims.” Here are a few examples of conditions generally considered to be diseases: cold, flu, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, heart attacks, HIV, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, allergies, tooth decay, impotence, seizures, asthma, attention deficit disorder, ulcers, burns, mild abrasions, bruises, scars, head lice, obesity, anxiety, and depression. Many, many others belong on this list, but there isn’t enough space for them all! No matter how much success you feel you’ve had with a Young Living product in helping your family fight disease, avoid claiming as much when you are sharing our products. Personal experiences do not replace scientific studies, and when you share your personal experiences in a business building setting, no matter how remarkable, they may count as a disease claim. Avoid stating that our products can treat a disease, even if you don’t actually name the disease. There are a lot of ways to imply that Young Living products can treat, cure, or prevent diseases. Each violates U.S. regulations. Regulators look at the objective intent of advertising statements when deciding whether or not a disease claim is implied. Below are a few impermissible implied disease claims, the disease implied by these claims, and related claims that you can make. Unacceptable Disease Claim Implied Disease Acceptable Claim Relieves crushing chest pain Angia or heart attack Helps relax muscles Heals stomach or duodenal lesions and bleeding Ulcers Helps with upset/sour stomach Anticonvulsant Epilepsy Provides support for the nervous system Relief of bronchospasm Asthma Supports healthy lung function Helps alleviate the blues associated with emotion of despair Depression Helps alleviate occasional nervous irritability Controls blood sugar in person with insufficient insulin Diabetes Maintains normal blood sugar levels Prevents wasting in persons with weakened immune systems AIDS Supports the immune system Improves joint mobility and reduces joint inflammation and pain Rheumatoid arthritis Supports healthy joint and cartilage function Antibiotic Infections Aids a healthy immune system Avoid claiming that Young Living products treat a symptom of a disease or a class of disease, even when talking in every day terms (instead of technical terms). Here are a few examples: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Unacceptable Implied Disease Claims Why It Is an Unacceptable Claim Acceptable Claims ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Helps lower cholesterol OR Promotes cholesterol clearance The lowering of cholesterol or Helps maintain cholesterol levels already cholesterol clearance are implied disease in the normal range claims linked to treating elevated cholesterol _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For joint pain Joint pain is a widely recognized as being a Helps support cartilage and joint function OR characteristic of arthritis Helps alleviate minor aches and pains associated with daily life _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Maintains healthy lungs in smokers Smokers are an at-risk population for lung cancer, Maintains healthy lung function OR therefore the claim implies lung cancer prevention Supports the lungs and sinuses ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prevents bone fragility in post-menopausal women Implies prevention of osteoporosis Helps support healthy bone structure ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prevents memory loss Refers to preventing Alzheimer’s disease Improves absentmindedness ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aids in balancing blood sugar Imbalanced blood sugar levels are widely known to Helps maintain blood sugar levels already in the be associated with diabetes. In this case, “balancing” normal range would be understood to mean “improving.” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some drug classes are so strongly associated with disease treatment or prevention that a statement that a product belongs to that class implies that the product will treat or prevent the same diseases that the class of drug does.