ASA Adjudication on Larsen Health Care Ltd

Ad

An advertising feature for a chiropractic clinic, in the regional press, featured a picture of a man who was identified as "Dr Mark Larsen, principle [sic] chiropractor, at Bury Chiropractic". The ad described the treatments offered by chiropractors at the clinic, and featured a quotation from Dr Larsen that stated "Facilitating the correct working of the nervous system can not only ease back problems but can also help improve your general health. People with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, recurrent colds, asthma or colic in infants often find improvement".

Issue

1. The complainant challenged whether the claim that chiropractic treatments could improve the conditions mentioned, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), recurrent colds, asthma and colic in infants, was misleading and could be substantiated.

2. The ASA challenged whether the use of the term 'Dr' misleadingly implied that Dr Larsen held a general medical qualification.

CAP Code

Response

1. Bury Family Chiropractic (BFC) said, in relation to IBS, recurrent colds and asthma, the ad did not claim to treat or improve those conditions. Rather the ad stated that people who suffered from IBS, recurrent colds or asthma often found that chiropractic treatment they received for other conditions also improved their IBS, cold or asthma symptoms. BFC said it was the role of a chiropractor to offer dietary and lifestyle advice to patients alongside chiropractic treatments. For example lactose intolerance had been shown to cause similar symptoms to IBS, and therefore a lactose-free diet could be recommended to patients. They said they also offered advice and counselling on how to manage certain conditions, such as asthma. They said the claim was based on clinical experience and observation, and provided references to articles and papers on IBS and asthma. BFC said there was no single cause or single effective cure or treatment known for colic, but that it was accepted that colic could be caused or triggered by other processes. They said chiropractors were trained to check for neck, back and muscular triggers to infant crying, and to try and alleviate them if present, which often improved the symptoms of colic.

BFC said chiropractors were sufficiently trained to be able to recognise when certain symptoms were likely to be from a condition they could not treat, and should be referred to another medical practitioner accordingly. They argued that it was clear from the wording and context of the ad that the named conditions were referred to in the context of their clinical experience and observation.

2. BFC said they understood that a chiropractor could use the courtesy title 'Dr' in their advertising, as long as it was clear that they were a chiropractor and the ad did not imply that they were a medical practitioner. They believed the ad conformed to that position; it clearly stated that Mark Larsen was a chiropractor and described what kinds of conditions he treated and the methods he used. BFC said they would include further qualification to the term 'Dr', should they use it again in future advertising.  

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA considered that consumers were likely to interpret the claim "Facilitating the correct working of the nervous system can not only ease back problems but can also help improve your general health. People with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, recurrent colds, asthma or colic in infants often find improvement" to mean that chiropractic manipulation could improve the named conditions.

We noted the articles referred to by BFC in relation to IBS and asthma. Notwithstanding the fact that we had not seen full copies of those studies, we noted that most of the articles appeared to assess the effect of lifestyle factors only, such as diet and smoking, on those conditions and, therefore, were not relevant. Some studies showed the effect of the Buteyko breathing method, which we understood could be taught by a chiropractor, on the symptoms of asthma and were relevant. However, because we had not seen robust scientific evidence, such as controlled clinical trials, that showed that chiropractic could improve asthma or the other conditions named in the ad, IBS, recurrent colds and colic in infants, we concluded that the ad was misleading.

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

2. Upheld

We noted that the ad referred to "Dr Larsen, principle [sic] chiropractor". We considered, however, that consumers were likely to understand that claim, and the title 'Dr' repeated throughout the ad, to mean that Dr Larsen held a general medical qualification, as well as practising as a chiropractor. We welcomed BFC's assurance that future ads would be amended. However, because we understood that Dr Larsen did not hold a general medical qualification we concluded that the use of the term 'Dr' was likely to mislead.  

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)