Newspaper readers around the U.S. are again being bombarded in early 2006 by ad inserts in their Sunday papers touting "The New Skinny Pill," which closer reading reveals as the supplement Zyladex Plus.

According to the ad, which features the misleading photo of what appears to be a prescription drug bottle, this amazing pill "is now available in the United States without a prescription" and will enable you to lose up to 15 pounds a week. The ad claims "clinical studies prove it."

The ad, however, provides absolutely no information about what is in this pill or how it works, and its manufacturer Medlab has no website where this information can be found. When you phone the number in the ad that you are urged to call 24 hours a day to order the product, and ask what the active ingredient in the pill is, the operator tells you "I actually do not have that information available."

But when this pill was being pushed several years ago, it was one of the many containing the combination of the amphetamine-like compound Ephedrine (since banned by the U.S. FDA) and caffeine.

Further research suggests that the active ingredient in the current formulation is bitter orange, a common substitute for ephedrine. Extracts from the peel of bitter orange contain the chemical synephrine, a substance similar to ephedrine, and it may contribute to weight loss by increasing metabolism.

It is unclear whether bitter orange acts similarly in raising heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure, but if it does, Zyladex Plus could be risky for people with arrhythmias and high blood pressure.

While the ad misleadingly seeks to invoke the good name of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by saying Zyladex Plus has been "approved for release by a FDA REGISTERED laboratory," needless to say the product -- like virtually all supplements -- has NEVER been judged for effectiveness or safety by the FDA.

Bottom line: We would just say, as we have so many times before, when claims sound too good to be true, they usually are. Buyer beware.