The Federal Trade Commission will no longer turn a blind eye to bogus or misleading claims by homeopathic drug makers, according to an enforcement policy statement the commission released Tuesday.

Makers of over-the-counter (OTC) homeopathic drugs and products that claim to cure or treat ailments will now have to clearly disclose in their advertisements and labeling that: 1) there is no scientific evidence that they are effective, and 2) that any claims of effectiveness are only based on homeopathic theories, which are not accepted by modern medical experts.

In its statement, the FTC asserted that it has long had the authority to crack down on false and misleading claims. That includes in the decades after the Food and Drug Administration allowed homeopathic products to go on the market without demonstrations of their efficacy. “Nevertheless, in the decades since the Commission announced in 1972 that objective product claims must be substantiated, the FTC has rarely challenged misleading claims for products that were homeopathic or purportedly homeopathic,” the agency noted.

But “in light of the burgeoning mainstream marketing of OTC homeopathic products alongside other OTC drugs,” the FTC has decided to step up enforcement.

As Ars readers are likely aware, homeopathy is a thoroughly debunked pseudoscience that hinges on the idea that “like cures like.” That is, homeopaths say that diseases can be cured by heavily diluted doses of toxic substances that, in larger quantities, would produce the disease or similar symptoms. Believers say that homeopathic remedies can cure everything from AIDS to teething pain.

Last month, the FDA warned parents to stop using homeopathic teething gels and tablets following reports of hundreds of illnesses and 10 infant deaths. Based on the reported symptoms, the products may have contained an improperly diluted amount of belladonna, aka deadly nightshade. The FDA investigation is ongoing.

In light of the FTC’s new policy, those products and other homeopathic OTC drugs will likely be getting new packaging.

The FTC acknowledged the contradiction of placing homeopathic claims alongside the disclosure that said claims are not supported by science. This, the FTC admitted, can confuse or mislead consumers. To make sure that the disclosure isn’t undercut by marketers' claims, the FTC put homeopaths on notice that they should collect marketing information, such as consumer surveys, that indicates that consumers aren’t misled.

“The Commission will carefully scrutinize the net impression of OTC homeopathic advertising or other marketing employing disclosures to ensure that it adequately conveys the extremely limited nature of the health claim being asserted,” the FTC warned. “If, despite a marketer’s disclosures, an ad conveys more substantiation than the marketer has, the marketer will be in violation of the FTC Act.”