‘Cures’ a self-published phenom

Kevin Trudeau has no medical training. He’s a convicted felon. And he has been banned from hawking on TV products and services that federal regulators charge have no merit.

But the former used-car salesman’s book — “Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About” — has vaulted to the top of most best-seller lists.

Released in late June, “Natural Cures” is No. 2 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list, trailing only the latest “Harry Potter” installment. It’s also among top sellers ranked by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Amazon.com.

“Natural Cures” ($29.95), which Trudeau pushes on TV infomercials, purports to offer natural remedies for many diseases and provides advice on avoiding illnesses. It lambastes regulators, drugmakers and marketers for promoting and monitoring what Trudeau says are harmful foods and medications. And it directs readers to Trudeau’s naturalcures.com Web site, where the hopeful can pay $9.95 monthly (or $499 lifetime) for access.

Sold by major retailers, Cures could be the top self-published book ever, says Jim Milliot, a Publishers Weekly editor. “It sold 1.5 million copies in July. He’s tapped into something. People are looking for alternative advice.”

Trudeau brushes off critics. He fancies himself a Ralph Nader-style consumer advocate fighting big business and government. “Natural cures have been a passion of mine for a long time,” says Trudeau, 42. “I’m talking about things that no one wants to admit.”

Publishers rejected “Cures” before its release through his own company, Alliance Publishing. “They told me, ‘Nobody will buy it. You’re a nut. You’ll have to tone it down,’ ” Trudeau says.

Much of the book’s success hinges on Trudeau’s talk-show-style infomercials, some of which feature former televangelist Tammy Faye Messner. “She’s a channel stopper,” Trudeau says.

Natural Cures was among TV’s most heavily promoted infomercial products in July, averaging 140 weekly airings on national cable channels alone, says Sam Cantanese, CEO of infomercial tracker imstv.com. “He’s advertising like crazy,” Cantanese says. “He knows how to work the system.”

Trudeau honed his pitchman skills promoting a series of infomercial products over two decades such as Dr. Callahan’s Addiction Breaking System, Eden’s Secret Nature’s Purifying Product, the Sable Hair Farming System, the Mega Memory System, Biotape and Coral Calcium Supreme, a daily vitamin supplement.

Coral Calcium — made from Japanese sea coral — drew a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit in 2003 that accused Trudeau and associates of making unsubstantiated claims as a cure for cancer, heart disease and other maladies.

Trudeau, who has tangled with the FTC over product claims since 1998, settled in 2004 and agreed to no longer appear in or produce ads shilling goods or services. But the FTC settlement allows him to hawk books. “He has a constitutional right to free speech,” the FTC’s Laura Sullivan says.

Trudeau doesn’t shy away from controversy. He’s suing the FTC over a press release detailing terms of last year’s 2004 settlement. And he’s frank about a two-year prison term for a conviction in 1991 on credit-card fraud. A federal indictment accused him of stealing more than $128,600, using credit cards from those who had bought his products. “I made a mistake in my 20s,” he says. “So what?”

Trudeau’s past and run-ins with regulators tarnish the infomercial industry, says Electronic Retailing Association CEO Barbara Tulipane.

“He’s charming and personable,” Tulipane says. “It’s easy to get sucked into what he’s saying.”