ZILA Zila (MM)

Flu Vaccine Shortage May Force Americans to Resort to Other Flu Prevention Methods Monitor the Severity of Your Flu Risk and Learn About Zila Nutraceuticals' Ester-C(R) Immune System Health Benefits Online PRESCOTT, Ariz., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- With the increased threat of illness this flu season due to the vaccine shortage, risk assessment and prevention are more important than ever. Americans can now monitor the severity of flu in their area by visiting weather.com's national flu report online. Links to this new section can be found at http://www.ester-c.com/ or users can access the reports in the Health section at http://www.weather.com/. weather.com's flu report launched this week and will be updated weekly throughout the flu season. weather.com notes that its flu report, which debuted in 2001, typically serves one million monthly pageviews each month during the height of the flu season. "We want to increase awareness of the flu report and believe that Ester-C is the perfect sponsor of this risk-assessment tool," said Ken Vargha, director of marketing of Zila Nutraceuticals, Inc., maker of Ester-C(R) and exclusive sponsor of the national flu report. "We believe there is a natural tie between awareness of flu risk and vitamins to enhance the immune system, your body's natural defenses. Therefore, we decided to dedicate a portion of our Ester-C advertising budget to help increase this awareness." With this online resource now available to help consumers monitor and stay ahead of outbreaks, the next important step is to seek additional ways to boost the immune system. "Vitamin C is a proven immune system booster," said Vern Cherewatenko, MD. "With what appears to be a severe flu vaccine shortage this year, for many individuals, prevention will be the number one tool to stay healthy this year. Taking vitamins is one of the best ways to do this -- and vitamin C is at the top of the list." Dr. Cherewatenko recommends that teens and adults take 500 - 1000 milligrams of vitamin C daily, in a buffered form of the vitamin that is non-acidic such as Ester-C. "I take Ester-C daily and recommend the same to my patients," he added. He also recommends plenty of rest and fluids. "Accessible tools such as the flu report and information on Ester-C.com are two must-haves as we gear up for flu season this year." Zila Nutraceuticals, Inc., a Zila company (NASDAQ:ZILA), is the manufacturer and marketer of Ester-C(R) and Ester-E(R) for advanced protection from vitamins C and E. For more information visit http://www.ester-c.com/ or http://www.ester-e.com/. Zila, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, is an innovator in preventative healthcare technologies and products, focusing on enhanced body defense and the detection of pre-disease states. Zila has three business units: * Zila Biotechnology, a research, development and licensing business specializing in pre-cancer/cancer detection through its patented Zila Tolonium Chloride and OraTest(R) technologies. * Zila Nutraceuticals, manufacturer and marketer of Advanced Protection Ester-C(R) and Ester-E(R), branded, highly effective forms of vitamins C and E. * Zila Pharmaceuticals, marketer of superior products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease, including ViziLite(R) oral examination kits, Peridex(R) prescription periodontal rinse and Zilactin OTC oral care products. For more information about Zila, visit http://www.zila.com/. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based largely on Zila's expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond the Company's control. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. A wide variety of factors could cause or contribute to such differences and could adversely affect the continuation of significant revenue growth for Ester-C in fiscal 2005. These factors include the Company's plans for the promotion of its Ester-C product, including the planned increase in advertising for Ester-C in general and sponsorship of weather.com's flu report in particular; the Company's ability to conclusively demonstrate the efficacy of Ester-C in enhancing the immune system, and thus helping to fight the flu risk; the number of readers of the flu report on weather.com; and the competition from larger, more established companies producing generic forms of vitamin C. Additionally, Zila and its Ester-C products are subject to risks associated with new federal, state, local or foreign legislation or regulation or adverse determinations by regulators under existing regulations, including the interpretation of and compliance with existing, proposed and future regulatory requirements and dietary ingredient regulations imposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other governmental authorities, such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission with its regulatory authority over, among other items, the efficacy claims made in product labeling and advertising. For a more detailed description of these and other cautionary factors that may affect Zila's future results, please refer to Zila's Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended July 31, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About The Weather Channel Interactive weather.com, a product of The Weather Channel Interactive and the Web site of The Weather Channel(R), is the ultimate source of weather on the Web. The site helps users plan their lives by delivering timely current conditions, expert forecasts and relevant lifestyle content for 98,000 locations worldwide. weather.com reaches more than 25 million unique users each month and is the most popular source of online weather, news and information. Its content is currently ranked the 10th most popular according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The Weather Channel Interactive is the leading provider of broadband and wireless weather products and also provides consumers with unique and customizable products such as Desktop Weather by The Weather Channel and Notify! by The Weather Channel, a personalized weather alert service. The company's partnerships include America Online, Yahoo!, Excite Networks, MSNBC.com, USAToday.com, AT&T WorldNet, ABCNews.com, Digital City, Road Runner, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, Nextel and Palm Computing. About Dr. Vern Cherewatenko Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is a practicing physician in Renton, Washington, frequent lecturer, and the author of "The Diabetes Cure" and "The Stress Cure." For more information on Dr. Cherewatenko, please visit http://www.thediabetescure.com/ or http://www.thestresscure.com/. DATASOURCE: Zila Nutraceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Lindsay Hicks of Soapbox PR, +1-480-361-8104, , for Zila Nutraceuticals, Inc. Web site: http://www.ester-c.com/ http://www.weather.com/ http://www.zila.com/

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