ASA Adjudication on Optimum Health Centres

Ad

A regional press ad, for an Osteomyologist, was headlined “’A Doctor’s Confession to North London…’ And why, despite all, I still do what I do…. The text continued “ … Years ago something happened to me that changed my life forever. Let me tell you my story. I was about to go to college to study medicine as I had a true passion for helping people, however I had a very serious motorbike accident where I fractured a bone in the base of my neck … I then developed stomach ulcers and the doctors said it was from the pain killers … I then developed irritable bowel syndrome, which again they blamed on the medication … Then an old teacher of mine suggested I go and see an Osteomyologist … I did some research and found out that they have equal amounts of training as a regular medical doctor, however they specialise in the spine and the nervous system … I made a decision to go and get my degree and study to be an Osteomyologist myself … People come to see me with their headaches, migraines, IBS, chromic pain, neck pain, shoulder/arm pain, whiplash from car accidents, backaches, ear infections, asthma, allergies, numbness in limbs, athletic injuries just to name a few … My confession is that I’ve never healed anyone of anything. What I do is perform a specific spinal adjustment to remove nerve pressure and the body responds by healing itself. We get tremendous results. Its as simple as that! … There are many scientific studies that show that spinal adjustments can actually improve your immune system by up to 200%, naturally and without drugs … For Optimal Health, Dr. Robert Delgado MAO”.

Issue

One complainant challenged:

1. whether the ad feature made sufficiently clear it was advertising material;

2. whether Robert Delgados testimonial was genuine; and

3. the claim "There are many scientific studies that show that spinal adjustments can actually improve your immune system by up to 200%".

4. Two complainants challenged whether the use of "Dr" and the claim that an osteomyologist had equal amounts of training as a regular medical doctor were misleading.

5. The ASA challenged the efficacy of the treatment for the listed conditions.

CAP Code

Response

1.  Optimum Health Centre (OHC) said all the patients who had came to them because of the ad were aware that it had been an ad.  They pointed out the text stated "You can benefit from this amazing offer" and "offer expires on the 20th of August" and they believed those statements made clear that the ad had been an advertising feature and not editorial.

2. Robert Delgado asserted that his testimonial was genuine and provided further information about his accident, the treatment he received and his guidance teacher who suggested that he saw an osteomyologist.  

3.  OHC explained that the wording was incorrect in the published claim and that it had now been changed to "There are many scientific studies that show that spinal adjustments can actually improve your immune system, and some say by up to 200%".  They said they were happy to amend the claim further should it be necessary.  They provided four scientific articles on immunostimulation through spinal therapy that they believed supported the claim they intended to make.

4.  OHC said Robert Delgado was a qualified doctor of chiropractic and supplied copies of his degree certificate, exam results and registration as "Dr. Robert Delgado" by The Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa.  They pointed out that this registration conferred the right to practice chiropractic in South Africa.  They said, for the reasons above, they considered that Robert Delgado was sufficiently qualified to use the title of doctor.  They believed that with the qualifications Robert Delgado held that he could register with The Association of Osteomyologists (TAO) or The General Chiropractic Council (GCC).  They explained that he performed chiropractic treatments and had chosen to register with the TAO instead of the GCC.  They explained that, because he was not a member of the GCC, he was not allowed to call himself a chiropractor but, as long as it was clear that he was not a registered medical practitioner, they did not believe it was misleading to use the title of doctor.  

Dr Clemens, the Chairman of the TAO, explained that TAO was a professional body with a professional Register and the required bloc insurance scheme, for both patient and professional, to cover all of their many members.  He explained that they only accepted practitioners who had high degree qualifications in one or the other of the manual medical disciplines.  He explained that their members were required by their Code of Practice and Ethics to title themselves osteomyologists, and their Disciplinary Committee and Constitution enforced that.

OHC supplied a table, taken from the book Chiropractic First by Terry Rondberg, which compared the number of classroom hours training on subjects such as physiology and neurology, between chiropractic and medical education from 11 American colleges and 22 medical schools in 1996.  They pointed out that the number of total hours of classroom teaching was greater for chiropractic than medical teaching.  They believed that, along with the fact that Robert Delgado was a trained chiropractor but called himself an Osteomyologist, was sufficient to justify the claim that an osteomyologist had equal amounts of training as a regular medical doctor.

5. They pointed out that the ad claimed only that the body healed itself and they facilitated this by correcting vertebral alignment.  They said patients with conditions referred to in the ad were treated worldwide by osteopaths, osteomyologists, chiropractors and spinal specialists.  They said they did not understand why the ASA had challenged that point, but sent as support the following: a leaflet titled "Chiropratic Patient Satisfaction and Utilization: A Review of the Current Research" from the American Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER); three peer reviewed articles on the successful treatment of whiplash by spinal manipulation, numerous other abstracts referring to treatment of conditions such as migraines and web archives that were recognised in the chiropractic community.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted OHCs comments but considered that, because the ad was not clearly labelled as an advertising feature, it could be mistaken for editorial.  We concluded that the ad could mislead.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code 23.2 (Advertisement features).

2. Not upheld

We noted the correspondence we had received from Robert Delgado and considered that he had substantiated that the main facts of his testimonial was true.  We understood that people who had trained in chiropractic but who were not members of the GCC were legally prohibited from calling themselves chiropractors and, in that case, we did not object to the reference to Osteomyologist rather than chiropractor in the ad.  We concluded that the ad did not breach the CAP Code on that point.

On this point, the ad was investigated under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness), but we did not find it in breach.

3. Upheld

We noted the studies had shown preliminary findings and the possibility that spinal manipulation therapy could affect, in an unknown manner, the immune system and inflammatory response.  We considered that the four articles and the text of other abstracts supplied were insufficient to support the claim or to show that spinal therapy had a stimulating effect on the immune system of a healthy person.  Because of that, we concluded that the claim breached the Code.

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

4. Upheld

We noted Robert Delgado's South African qualifications and that he had the right to practice chiropractic in South Africa.  We acknowledged that he was also registered as an osteomyologist in the UK.  We noted the table supplied comparing number of hours study between medicine and chiropractic, not osteomyology, was based on American information and that Robert Delgado had trained in South Africa and had chosen to practise in the UK.  We therefore considered that the table was not adequate substantiation for the claim that an osteomyologist had equal amounts of training to a regular medical doctor in the UK.  We considered that the headline "A Doctor's Confession ..." and the use of the title "Dr" gave the impression that Robert Delgado was a registered medical doctor.  Because he was not, we concluded that the claim could mislead.      

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

5. Upheld

The ASA noted the information that OHC had supplied.  We acknowledged that OHC had provided web archives relating case studies on many conditions treated by chiropractic, including those considered as non-serious such as irritable bowel syndrome and earache, but we considered that they were insufficient to show that osteomyology treatment would treat those conditions.  We understood that osteomyology was not subject to statutory regulation and did not require an entry qualification beyond a degree in a physical medical discipline such as chiropractic or osteopathy.  We noted the CAP Code specified that ads should not offer advice on, diagnosis of or treatment for serious ailments like migraine unless it was conducted under the supervision of a doctor or a suitably qualified health professional.  We considered that, because Robert Delgado was not a medical doctor and because osteomyology was not subject to regulation by a statutory or recognised medical or health professional body, the ad should not have referred to serious medical conditions such as migraines and whiplash lest that should lead to a mistaken diagnosis.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 50.1, 50.3 and 50.6 (Health & Beauty products and therapies - General).

Action

The ad should not be repeated.  We advised OHC to seek help with the amendments from the CAP Copy Advice team.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)