Allergan halts Lap-Band sales to 1-800-GET-THIN clinics

The maker of the Lap-Band will no longer sell its product to clinics affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company. — a blow to Southern California surgery centers that have built an empire implanting the weight-loss devices in people looking to shed pounds.

Allergan Inc. said in a statement that it has "made the decision to presently discontinue the sale of the Lap-Band … to all entities affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN."

The Irvine company's action Thursday comes amid state and federal investigations of surgery centers affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, which touts the Lap-Band procedure on Southland freeway billboards and on TV, radio and the Internet. CLICK HERE to read the entire Los Angeles Times article.

KCAL Channel 9 News at 10 pm and KCBS News Channel 2 at 11 pm also ran stories on the latest 1-800-GET-THIN news.