Ad description

A page on the website www.tommeetippee.co.uk stated "Safe, easy to use and effective against colic. The Anti-Colic Plus bottle has been designed with a super sensitive valve, advanced easi-vent technology and optimum venting during feeding. Before feeding baby check the heat sensing tube. If it is blue it is safe to feed. If it has changed to pink the milk is warmer than the recommended 37°C. The Anti-Colic Plus teat has a unique, easy latch on shape with soft natural feel silicone".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the claim "effective against colic" was misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

Jackel International Ltd (Jackel) said that, whilst medical practitioners did not definitively understand or agree upon the causes of colic, it was commonly believed that air ingestion during feeding was likely to be a contributing factor in some cases of colic and that that information was widely available to parents via health and parenting websites.  They told us the product had been specifically designed to minimise air ingestion and that meant it would, therefore, reduce the risk of colic. They provided a study which they advised demonstrated a trend to less colic when an anti-vacuum feeding bottle was used in place of a conventional bottle, and provided test data to show that their product had a sensitive anti-vacuum device.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted that the definition of a medicinal/medical claim under CAP Code rule  12.1 12.1 Objective claims must be backed by evidence, if relevant consisting of trials conducted on people. Substantiation will be assessed on the basis of the available scientific knowledge.
Medicinal or medical claims and indications may be made for a medicinal product that is licensed by the MHRA, VMD or under the auspices of the EMA, or for a CE-marked medical device. A medicinal claim is a claim that a product or its constituent(s) can be used with a view to making a medical diagnosis or can treat or prevent disease, including an injury, ailment or adverse condition, whether of body or mind, in human beings.
Secondary medicinal claims made for cosmetic products as defined in the appropriate European legislation must be backed by evidence. These are limited to any preventative action of the product and may not include claims to treat disease.
  included claims that a product could be used to prevent an ailment or adverse condition in human beings, and we therefore considered that both the phrase "effective against colic" and the reference to "anti-colic" in the name of the product, amounted to medical claims.  Whilst we acknowledged that many sources of advice for parents cited air ingestion as a possible contributory factor in some cases of colic, and that the product had been designed to minimise the air swallowed by babies during feeding, we noted that the product was not a CE-marked medical device and we therefore concluded that the use of any medical claims when marketing the product was in breach of the CAP Code.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule  12.1 12.1 Objective claims must be backed by evidence, if relevant consisting of trials conducted on people. Substantiation will be assessed on the basis of the available scientific knowledge.
Medicinal or medical claims and indications may be made for a medicinal product that is licensed by the MHRA, VMD or under the auspices of the EMA, or for a CE-marked medical device. A medicinal claim is a claim that a product or its constituent(s) can be used with a view to making a medical diagnosis or can treat or prevent disease, including an injury, ailment or adverse condition, whether of body or mind, in human beings.
Secondary medicinal claims made for cosmetic products as defined in the appropriate European legislation must be backed by evidence. These are limited to any preventative action of the product and may not include claims to treat disease.
 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Jackel to take care not to make medical claims for unlicensed products.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

12.1    


More on