ASA Adjudication on Archway House Natural Health Centre

Ad

A leaflet, for the Harborough Asthma and Eczema Clinic for Kids, was headlined "A breath of fresh air - for asthma and eczema sufferers". The leaflet included two testimonials. The first, from "S Potter, Market Harborough", stated "Harry's face was sore and angry, so the doctor prescribed hydrocortisone cream and emollient. Before I took the prescription to the chemist I tried Julia's homeopathic remedies. A week afterwards, Harry's eczema had cleared up. His face has been totally clear ever since." The second, from "Mrs Watson, Market Harborough", stated "I was frightened by how much my daughter relied on her inhalers and I wanted to look at some alternatives. I really do believe that homeopathy has been a massive help; she’s had fewer attacks as a result". Text continued "Take a fresh look at your child’s breathlessness or itchy, burning skin. Homeopathic treatments can put a drug-free smile on the faces of asthma and eczema sufferers, young and old ... We look at the causes of allergies, not the symptoms Homeopathic treatments are safe for children - and they work alongside conventional medicines such as creams and puffers Julia Wilson is registered with the Society of Homeopaths, Britain’s largest register of homeopaths ... Itch, scratch, wheeze, gasp - life’s not much fun when your allergies stop you playing. Conventional medicine is at a loss when it comes to understanding the origins of allergies. Despite millions of pounds of research, the numbers of asthma and eczema sufferers are increasing. The best that medical research can do is to try to keep the symptoms under control. Although creams and puffers can provide temporary relief, they’re not offering your child a cure. Homeopathy is different; it seeks to address the triggers for asthma and eczema. It’s a safe, drug-free approach that helps alleviate the flaring skin and tightening lungs of your child’s allergic reactions ... an opportunity for you to find out more about homeopathy and allergies - to learn how the safe, drug-free, homeopathic approach can improve the lives of asthma and eczema sufferers ...".

Issue

The complainant challenged:

1. the implication that homeopathy offered a cure for asthma and eczema by addressing the causes of those conditions;

2. whether the claim that homeopathy "helps alleviate the flaring skin and tightening lungs of your child's allergic reactions" could be substantiated; and

3. whether the ad was irresponsible, because it was likely to dissuade consumers from seeking medical advice about asthma and eczema by suggesting that conventional medicine was less effective than homeopathy in treating those conditions.

4. The ASA challenged whether the testimonials were genuine and whether they could be supported with independent evidence of their accuracy.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Archway House Natural Health Centre (Archway House) said the leaflet made no explicit or implied claim that homeopathy could cure asthma and eczema; instead it claimed to help alleviate the effects of asthma, such as wheezing, and those of eczema, such as itchy skin.  They pointed out that the leaflet stated "learn how the safe, drug-free, homeopathic approach can improve the lives of asthma and eczema sufferers ..."; they argued that that did not suggest a cure.  They said the British medical research charity, Asthma UK, acknowledged on its website that there was no cure for asthma but advocated medicines for symptom management.

2. Archway House said evidence for the homeopathic treatment of asthma and eczema did exist, although it was perhaps not conclusive.  They referred the ASA to several reports and research on how homeopathy could help manage the symptoms of asthma and eczema.  The information included observational studies on the treatment of allergic conditions, a study of respiratory allergy treated with homeopathy and a study of patients with asthma and eczema treated with homeopathic remedies and conventional medicine.

3. Archway House said the leaflet did not claim that homeopathy was superior to conventional medicine but instead made clear that the two could be integrated; they pointed out that it stated "Homeopathic treatments ... work alongside conventional medicines such as creams and puffers ...".  They argued that the ad was responsible because it offered alternatives to conventional medicine and encouraged consumers to make informed choices about how to manage their health.  They said their homeopathic advice was not intended to replace medical advice and they consistently advised their patients to maintain communication with their doctor.

4. Archway House were unable to provide any substantiation on this point.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted Archway House had acknowledged that there was no cure for asthma or eczema but also noted the ad stated "We look at the causes of allergies, not the symptoms ... Although creams and puffers can provide temporary relief, they're not offering your child a cure.  Homeopathy is different; it seeks to address the triggers for asthma and eczema ...".  We considered that misleadingly implied that homeopathy offered a cure for asthma and eczema by addressing the causes of those conditions.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 50.1 and 50.7 (Health & beauty products and therapies - General).

2. Upheld

Because Archway House had sent only brief summaries of the research on how homeopathy could help manage the symptoms of asthma and eczema, we did not know, for example, whether the studies were adequately controlled, whether they followed a recognised methodology, whether they were of sufficient duration to ensure that any beneficial effect was not a short-term response and whether the results were statistically significant.  We understood that most of the research seemed to have been carried out on adults, not children.  We were therefore unable to ascertain whether the research was sufficiently robust and specific to children to substantiate the leaflet's claim that homeopathy could help "alleviate the flaring skin and tightening lungs of your child's allergic reactions".

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 50.1 (Health & beauty products and therapies - General).

3. Upheld

We noted the ad stated "I was frightened by how much my daughter relied on her inhalers ... homeopathy has been a massive help; she's had fewer attacks as a result ... Conventional medicine is at a loss when it comes to understanding the origins of allergies.  Despite millions of pounds of research, the numbers of asthma and eczema sufferers are increasing.  The best that medical research can do is to try to keep the symptoms under control.  Although creams and puffers can provide temporary relief, they're not offering your child a cure.  Homeopathy is different; it seeks to address the triggers for asthma and eczema ...".  We considered the ad was irresponsible, because it was likely to dissuade consumers from seeking medical advice about asthma and eczema by suggesting that conventional medicine was less effective than homeopathy in treating those conditions.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clause 2.2 (Responsible advertising).

4. Upheld

Because Archway House were unable to provide signed and dated proof that the testimonials were genuine, or independent evidence of their accuracy, we concluded that they were misleading.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 14.1 and 14.3 (Testimonials and endorsements).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Archway House not to imply their treatments could cure asthma and eczema or help alleviate the symptoms of those conditions and not to imply conventional medicine was less effective than homeopathy in treating asthma and eczema.  We also told them to remove the testimonials and advised them to contact the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising the Harborough Asthma and Eczema Clinic for Kids again.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)