Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
What is the menopause?
Can marketers claim that their medicine can treat the symptoms of the menopause?
What about Complementary and Alternative Therapies?
Can marketers claim that their food supplement can treat the symptoms of the menopause?
What about a product names?
What is the menopause?
The menopause is a natural change in a woman’s life and happens when ovaries stop releasing eggs, and periods stop. Ovaries also make the hormone oestrogen (a chemical substance) so when they stop working; there is a drop in the blood level of this hormone.
Perimenopause refers to the transitional phase leading up to menopause, during which hormonal changes occur which may result in a number of symptoms, including those mentioned below.
As well as some emotional effects, symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause can include irregular periods, hot flushes and night sweats, difficulty sleeping (insomnia), changes in your mood (e.g. feeling irritable, depressed or anxious), vaginal symptoms (e.g. dryness and pain during sex), reduced libido and urinary problems.
Can marketers claim that their medical product can treat the symptoms of the menopause?
Medicinal products must have a licence from the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they are marketed.
Claims to treat the symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause are likely to be medicinal in nature and marketers should therefore refer to resources from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before marketing, to establish whether the product needs to be licenced as a medicine, or if it is eligible to be registered under the Traditional Herbal Medicine scheme. If an appropriate licence has been obtained, marketing communications for that medicine must conform to the licence and the product’s summary of product characteristics (SPC).
Marketers would not only risk a breach rules 12.1 and 12.11 if they made medicinal claims for unauthorised products but, depending on the claims and the symptoms being referenced, such ads might also risk breaching rule 12.2, which states that ads should not discourage essential treatment.
In 2024, the ASA considered a social media ad which included claims that a bracelet, combined with peppermint oil, could be used to provide a “meno belly solution” and to “wear it 24/7 for fast bloating relief & appetite control”. The ASA considered the claims were medicinal in nature and that the product was therefore classed as medical device combined with a medicine (the peppermint oil). Because the marketer had not demonstrated that the bracelet medical device was adequately certified with the appropriate conformity marking (nor registered with the MHRA), and were unable to demonstrate that the peppermint oil was licensed as a medicinal product, the ASA ruled that the ad should not have made any medicinal claims ( GKOnlineCo Pty Ltd, 24 April 2024).
Similarly, a social media ad for a wild yam cream which made claims to treat the symptoms of the menopause was found to breach of the Code for making medicinal claims for an unlicensed medicinal product (The Edinburgh Herbal Dispensary Ltd, 14 August 2024).
Marketers are reminded that prescription only medicines, such as HRT, may not be advertised to the public (See ‘Healthcare: Prescription-only medicine’).
What about Complementary and Alternative Therapies?
Whilst the menopause itself is obviously not a medical condition, the ASA is likely to consider some symptoms of the menopause to be conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. Claims to treat some of the more significant menopausal symptoms risks discouraging essential treatment, unless that treatment is carried out under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional (rule 12.2).
The ASA considered an ad for homeopathy therapy for “menopause relief” and included specific references to “Night sweats, Hot or cold flushes, Loss of libido, Vaginal dryness, Mood swings, Tiredness & exhaustion, Low mood, irritability, depression, anxiety”. alongside “PMT/PMS, Side-effects of the Pill, Irregular/heavy periods, Acne or other skin problems, Loss of libido, Candida, Mood swings, Tiredness & exhaustion, Low mood”. The ASA noted the lack of evidence supplied by the advertiser to demonstrate that homeopathy therapy could help with the symptoms of the menopause and ruled that the ad was misleading. Additionally, because the advertiser had not demonstrated that the treatment was carried out under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional, the ASA considered the claims to treat depression and menopausal symptoms discouraged essential medical treatment (Happy Homeopathy, 11 June 2014).
Can marketers claim that their food supplement can treat the symptoms of the menopause?
CAP Code rule 15.6.2 reflects the requirement at Article 7(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (the FIC) that “food information shall not attribute to any food the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease, nor refer to such properties”.
As such, claims to “prevent, treat or cure human disease are not acceptable in marketing communications for food products”. This CAP Advice on Food: Disease prevention and treatment claims - ASA | CAP provides further information.
CAP understands that the definition of ‘diseases’ in the legislation is wide and can include conditions such as the symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause. As such, claims to treat or help the symptoms of the menopause (and perimenopause) are unlikely to be acceptable for foods and food supplements.
In 2024 and 2025, the ASA ruled on a series of ads for food supplements which made prohibited claims that a food could treat symptoms of the menopause. A few of those rulings are included below.
- A Tik-Tok ad included claims that a “comprehensive menopause support supplement” could help with mood, brain fog, hot flushes and night sweats as well as providing “more energy, and better sleep”. The ASA considered that these were prohibited claims that a food supplement could treat human disease – Femtech Healthcare Ltd, 26 June 2024.
- A Facebook ad for a food supplement included prohibited disease treatment claims including “95% Success Rate in Menopause Relief” and “night sweats Intense hot flashes Frustrating brain fog episodes Sleep disturbances”. (Femgroup Ltd, 11 September 2024).
- An Instagram ad for a food supplement included the claim “Can’t do HRT? 89% of MenoFriend customers find this effective*”. The ASA considered not only that the food ad made prohibited claims to treat human disease, but that the HRT statement implied that the product had medicinal properties. This was considered problematic because the product was not authorised as a medicinal product by the MHRA (Dr Vegan Ltd, 10 September 2025
In 2026, the ASA considered additional food supplement ads which made references to helping with the symptoms of the menopause. These ads also implied the supplements had some equivalence to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the ASA considered such content presented the supplements as having a medicinal effect. Because those supplements were not licenced as medicines, the ASA ruled those claims breached the Code (Minerva Wellness Ltd, 25 March 2026, Nova Relief, 25 March 2026).
What about claims in product names?
Marketers should bear in mind that they can fall foul of the Code (and the law) if their product’s name implies an unproven efficacy or makes a medicinal claim. While CAP does not give legal advice, the MHRA have considered the name “Hot Flashex” to be an implied medicinal claim that the product could treat one of the adverse symptoms associated with the menopause.
Similar risks for claims in product names apply to food supplements, where product, company or brand names could make implied prohibited treatment claims to treat the symptoms of the menopause. This was examined, in part, in the ASA ruling on a food supplement ad which did not make explicit claims to treat the symptoms of the menopause, but did include claims to treat symptoms that would be understood as menopausal within the context of the referenced company trading name, “MenoDaily” (Happy Koala LLC, 17 July 2024).
See ‘Food: Health claims’, 'Healthcare: Prescription-only medicine', ‘Magnetic devices and therapies' 'Medicinal claims', 'medicines' and ‘Claims in product names’.