Background
Ad description
Claims on www.maureenbowman.co.uk stated "Hypnotherapy is the art of using hypnosis to help with medical cures ... Hypnotherapy has hundreds of uses, below I list a few ... Alcohol addictions ... Eating disorders ... Blood pressure ... Multiple Sclerosis".
Issue
An internet user understood that Maureen Bowman was not medically qualified and challenged whether the references to Multiple Sclerosis, blood pressure, eating disorders and alcohol addiction, might discourage essential treatment for conditions for which qualified medical supervision should be sought.
Response
Maureen Bowman said she was reluctant to remove the references to Multiple Sclerosis, blood pressure, eating disorders and alcohol addiction, because people would be unaware that she would be able to help them. She said she always ensured that her clients had been seen by a doctor first.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the claims referring to Multiple Sclerosis, blood pressure, eating disorders and alcohol addiction and the claim that hypnotherapy could be used to "help with medical cures" and considered that those claims offered treatment and cures for those conditions. We also considered that they were conditions for which qualified medical supervision should be sought. The CAP Code states marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought; for example, they should not offer specific advice on, diagnosis of or treatment for such conditions unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional. We noted we had not seen evidence to show Maureen Bowman was a suitably qualified health professional and therefore concluded that the claims could discourage essential treatment for those conditions.
The claims breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
12.2
12.2
Marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. For example, they must not offer specific advice on, diagnosis of or treatment for such conditions unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment is conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional. Accurate and responsible general information about such conditions may, however, be offered (see rule 12.11).
Health professionals will be deemed suitably qualified only if they can provide suitable credentials, for example, evidence of: relevant professional expertise or qualifications; systems for regular review of members' skills and competencies and suitable professional indemnity insurance covering all services provided; accreditation by a professional or regulatory body that has systems for dealing with complaints and taking disciplinary action and has registration based on minimum standards for training and qualifications.
(Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The claims must not appear again in their current form. We told Maureen Bowman not to refer to conditions for which medical supervision was required.
