European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To get it or health the latest health craze a a a a a a a  a Fieh a re a a a Quot vex a Ato l a m a a a a v a a a daily dosage of garlic pills is the equivalent of consuming one Clove Only without the smell. Makers say garlic Lowers cholesterol and is Good for the heart. By Eben Shapiro the new York times garlic is Good for you unless you re a Vampire. Ask anyone in Transylvania. And so the health food Industry has a new quest a it make garlic tablets As big a sensation As Granola. The pills already have quite a following in Europe so Why not the United states Selling the presumed disease prevention benefits of a food product in the United states is Tricky. Marketers cannot plug medicinal merits directly in their advertising to spark consumer interest. But health food retailers and makers of garlic pills say sales have soared Between 50 percent and 100 percent in the last year. And the pills once available Only at health food stores Are starting to find their Way onto the shelves of mass merchandisers and supermarkets like Wal Mart stores . And Walgreen s. On military installations in Europe garlic pills Are on the shelves of All larger commissaries and Are available upon request at smaller ones according to a commissary spokeswoman. Garlic s rising popularity is a result of the Powers of advertising however vague in its claims with scientific investigation of the bulb s alleged health benefits waiting in the wings As a possible further sales Booster. Garlic pills achieved their popularity in Europe in part because of clinical studies by a German company that indicated the pills can help reduce cholesterol Levels a a claim the company can and does make in its overseas advertising. In the United states studies Are under Way at Yale and Stanford universities and the National institutes of health is investigating garlic s possible role in the suppression of cancer cells. The German company Lichtzer pharma a Mph which makes Over the counter pharmaceuticals claims that garlic is now the top Selling Pill in Germany outselling even aspirin and is investing heavily on the introduction of its product into the United states. It spent $4.5 million advertising its kwai highly concentrated garlic tablets in the United states last year. With an $8 million advertising budget for 1992, Lichtzer put its kwai pills on the network evening news shows in january. Sales for garlic pills have done real Well for the past year but we be seen even greater increases in the past few months As advertising has increased Quot said Laurie Meyer a spokeswoman for the 1,680-store Walgreen Chain which now carries kwai tablets. Page 14 the stars and stripes a number of  consumer products inc Ucang vitamins Yogurt snacks dried fruit and herbal Tea also began in the Heath food Market. Strictly limited by food and drug administration rules about what they May claim in the Way of health benefits manufacturers tread carefully in their image making efforts. An Aura of asian herbal remedies seems to surround the Lichter pharma product for example As the company gets its garlic from China and although Lichtzer officials say they Are not sure of the exact venue the name kwai is certainly evocative of an asian heritage but in America it makes no direct Healing claims. Oat bran made it to the big time As a health food. But some companies got into trouble by making health claims on packaging based on research indicating possible health benefits a but not to the satisfaction of the Fra. Later studies questioned oat bran s effectiveness and like Many other products before it oat bran dropped out of the mainstream Quot what s happened in the past the trend is established by one heavy hitter getting behind it and making it a mainstream item Quot said Michael Hanna president of Arizona natural products a  garlic tablets and other products. Quot it is hard to change Consumers View of what s Good and what s bad without a lot of  spending millions of dollars on advertising is necessary to persuade big Chain stores to carry a product. For example Pam Nyberg a senior buyer at Perry drug stores inc., a 208-store Chain based in Pontiac mich., had been reluctant to carry garlic tablets because they seemed like a fad product until she heard about the heavy advertising spending planned. Quot that was one of the keys Quot she said. Quot to us advertising is very important. It could be one of the hottest items in the world but it does t matter if the consumer does t know it s in the  for garlic Pill markers the mass Market is where the big Money is. Only about 10 percent of the United states population shops in health food stores retailing experts estimate. While the manufacturers dispute the size of the Market for garlic tablets in the United states Joseph Veilleux general manager of Lichtzer pharma . Inc., in Pittsburgh said it reached about $50 million last year. A month s Supply of the pills costs anywhere from $5 to $18. Garlic Pill makers agree that growth will come from mass merchants. Quot health food will grow modestly but mass Trade will grow dramatically Quot said John of Maley a vice president of Cole s Quality foods inc., a maker of Frozen garlic bread that recently introduced a garlic Tablet. A Dally dose of garlic provides the same amount of vitamins and compounds found in a Clove of garlic. Minus the smell of course. The methods used to mask garlic s odor include cutting the product with a Citrus extract or aging it for up to 20 months. Quot it does no to come out your pores Quot said Louis k. Gwinn 72, a Texas insurance Salesman who has been taking garlic tablets every Day since he was found to have cancer five years ago. Quot sometimes you get it on your breath if you take too Many Quot he acknowledged. But to Gwinn As Well As other believers garlic Quot gets the toxins out of your system. It helps you All the Way  in Germany where Lichtzer has about a t percent of the $130 million Market for garlic pills the company has government approval to advertise that the tablets can reduce cholesterol Quot Levels by 10 percent. Researchers believe that Allicino a Fulfur containing compound in garlic May have beneficial effects kwai is the third largest Selling Over the counter Medicine in Europe after Bayer aspirin and Kloste Frau Melisse Geist an herbal remedy according to Nicholas Hall amp co., a consulting firm in Essex England. In the United states garlic tablets Are considered a food and therefore the Pill makers Are prohibited from making health claims about it in their advertising. Lichtzer says it is planning to go through the Long painful process of seeking Fra approval to make health claims for kwai but the company does not expect a ruling for several years. As a result the company s advertising is somewhat vague. Quot As you get older and Wiser Quot one Magazine and says Quot you re probably taking better care of yourself watching your diet lowering your cholesterol and fat intake now you can do what millions of europeans do daily a take kwai  even without being Able to sell garlic tablets directly As a health Pill in the United states makers maintain their product will not soon go the Way of oat bran. Quot we Are going to be Here for a Long time Quot Veilleux of Lichtzer pharma insisted. Nyberg the Tju yer for Perry drugs is not so sure. Quot it will be hot for a year or two Quot she said. Quot then it s  new York times the Zuchter pharma Plant in Berlin makes kwai garlic tables by the millions. Z 125.7 2.4 from the Gordon Fri t cd Tong Willmm Morrow 19/5 myth or Medicine by the new York times in Germany Lichtzer pharma has sponsored More than three dozen clinical trials that it contend demonstrate the medical benefits of garlic the company is allowed by the German government to make two specific cardio vascular comm in its advertising. It can claim based on tests that garlic reduces cholesterol by up to 10 percent and that much like aspirin it can thin blood and reduce the likelihood of blood clots. The cholesterol claim was allowed after a study of 261 patients taking 800 milligrams of garlic a Day in Tablet form showed a 12 percent reduction in cholesterol compared with 3 percent in a control group taking a Placebo the study failed to Monitor the diet of the participants however leaving open the role of eating habits in the drop in cholesterol. Still Lichtzer plans to submit the results of the German studies As part of its plan to petition the f Ood and drug administration to allow it to make health claims the company is also spending about $1 million to sponsor various studies in the United states into garlic s health benefits. Joseph Veilleux general manager of Lichtzer pharma . Inc., said getting approval to make health claims is critical to growing the Market for garlic products. Quot our sales would be much higher if we could say what we wanted to say Quot he said. Even without the claims he said there is a growing awareness in the United states of what Are considered the medicinal benefits of garlic. And in England sales Are robust even though the company can Only vaguely state that garlic can help develop a Quot healthy heart and  tuesday. May 26, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 15