Capsules

P: Blood tests of 67 men who admitted paternity in court cases showed that 9% to 18% of them probably were not the fathers of the children they accepted, a New York doctor-lawyer team report in the A.M.A. Journal..In New York and a dozen other states, blood tests are given only to men who deny paternity. Conclusion: courts that "routinely and perfunctorily" accept admissions of fatherhood should order thorough blood tests whether paternity is contested or not.

P: Clamping down on bogus doctors who make television promises about patent medicine, the Federal Trade Commission called a July 23 hearing--the first in which visual misrepresentation of cure-alls is a major complaint--on telecast blurbs for the American Chicle Co.'s tummy tranquilizer, Rolaids. In a typical plug, a professional-looking, white-garbed actor pours an unlabeled powder into a cloudy beaker, clears up the murk only slightly. But he gets sparkling-clear results when he dumps in "Rolaids' miracle ingredient . . . which takes care of twice as much acid.'' The medicineman does not say twice as much as what, but the FTC draws the obvious inference, objects that Rolaids are not twice as effective as some other antacids. In another TV come-on, "stomach acid" is shown burning a hole through a cloth napkin. FTC objection: not even concentrated "stomach acid" packs such a punch.

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