ExtenZe is a herbal nutritional supplement claiming to promote "natural male enhancement", which suggests a euphemism for penis enlargement.[1] However, television commercials make few definitive claims, employing suggestion and euphemism or promising a "better" or "more fun" sexual experience.
A class action settlement has been proposed and preliminarily approved, to resolve plaintiff claims that ExtenZe maker Biotab Nutraceuticals, Inc engaged in deceptive marketing (advertising, labeling, promotion, etc.) by claiming it enlarged a man's penis despite the lack of any credible scientific evidence supporting that claim. Claimants can file claims for a full refund of documented purchases of ExtenZe, and a refund for up to $22.50 of undocumented purchases. The complaint also claims that the claims were made in violation of a pre-existing court-ordered injunction.[4][5] As of September 2011, the settlement has been awaiting a ruling from the court on a motion for final approval for 6 months.
In 2006, ExtenZe agreed to pay the Orange County, California, district attorney's office $300,000 in civil penalties for unfair business practices and false advertising. Susan Kang Schroeder of the DA's office said the company could not back up its claim that the pills caused users' penises to grow 27%. After several customers in Laguna Beach, California complained to the Better Business Bureau that ExtenZe was making them sick, the district attorney investigated. Investigations revealed that ExtenZe’s lead content was beyond the legal limits.[1]
Ira Sharlip, a spokesman for the American Urological Association, has said, "There is no such thing as a penis pill that works. These are all things that are sold for profit. There's no science or substance behind them."[6] The manufacturer does not give an exact increase in length that one should expect to be grown after using the pills but it does however state that the results are temporary and that they are to be seen only as long as the supplement is administered.[7]
