Health and wellbeing claims are a common feature of online advertising, but some can overpromise, make products sound like treatments, or target people when they may be particularly vulnerable.
Our latest Pulse Report used our Active Ad Monitoring system to examine health claims in paid-for online ads. We identified around 309,000 healthcare-related ads and took a closer look at seven priority topics, including baby colic and reflux, mushroom supplements, research peptides, hormonal health and hair loss treatments.
We found widespread likely breaches of the advertising rules across all seven areas. Some of the greatest potential for harm was found in smaller categories, particularly where ads involved vulnerable audiences, potentially unsafe products or treatment-style claims.
The report explores the patterns we found, alongside new consumer research into attitudes towards health and wellbeing products and services, and sets out how we're responding through further regulatory action, work with our partners and continued proactive monitoring.