Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and GKOnlineCo Pty Ltd t/a Pups Den, Official Aida Store (Official Aida Store)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 24 April 2024
Law stated as at: 21 May 2024
What happened:
Official Aida Store is a company that sells “wellness” jewellery. In January 2024, a paid-for social media advert was seen to advertise an Official Aida Store product. The advert was in relation to a “VolcanicX bracelet” and peppermint oil, and featured claims such as: “Revealing I relieved my meno-bloat in 48 hours… ” and “Wear it 24/7 for fast bloating relief & appetite control“.
While the ASA confirmed that menopause itself is not a medical condition, the ASA did consider that claims regarding the treatment and management of the adverse symptoms of menopause (for example, the claims relating to bloating and appetite control) were medicinal or medical claims.
Based on these claims, the ASA considered that the VolcanicX bracelet was a medical product and the accompanying peppermint oil was a medicinal product. This was because the medicinal and medical claims were made in relation to both of these products. However, as the ASA saw no evidence that these products were adequately licenced or registered – this meant that no medicinal or medical claims could be validly made in relation to these products.
The ASA held that the ad breached the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) (edition 12) rules 1.10 (legality), 12.1 (medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products) and 12.11 (medicines).
Why this matters:
The ASA continues to take a strict approach to the adverts that contain medical or medicinal claims, particularly in relation to products that are not licenced or registered.
This ruling provides several interesting points.
Firstly, it highlights the ASA’s view that while menopause itself is not a medical condition, claims in relation to the treatment and management of the adverse symptoms caused by menopause are indeed considered to be medicinal/medical claims.
Secondly, this ruling is part of a wider investigation carried out by the ASA using their Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses artificial intelligence to search proactively for online advertisements that may be non-compliant with advertising regulations. In particular, it provides a timely reminder that the ASA are actively monitoring claims being made about the treatment of symptoms of menopause. Lastly, manufacturers of wellness products should ensure that their products are fully licenced and registered as appropriate before any medicinal or medical claims are made and that they have an easily accessible copy of documentation to prove this, as and when requested by a regulator.
