Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on prostate health. The ad was identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules. See also related rulings published on 10 December 2025.
Summary of Council decision: Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Two ads for Lifelab Testing, an at home medical testing company, seen on 24 July 2025.
a. The first ad, a paid-for Facebook ad contained the text “Prioritise your health with our fast at-home liver test from the UK’s top-rated provider” and an image of the testing kit box, with the test “Skip The Doctors With a Rapid Prostate Home Test Kit”.
Ad (a) linked through to a landing page, ad (b).
b. The second ad, on the Lifelab website lifelabtesting.com/product/prostate-health-test included text that stated, “Use as a first step or regular health monitor” and a product description with the text “This test is designed to identify Positive/Higher or Negative/Normal PSA levels enabling you to assess if you are in optimum health or if you require further investigation with a medical practitioner […] Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) is a blood protein secreted by your prostate gland. PSA appears in blood in higher-than-normal concentrations when the gland is enlarged or cancerous. Monitoring the prostate as a key biomarker is important for men over the age of 50. Checking the PSA level can be an important part of a health regime and a first step to further investigation of the prostate if abnormal levels are detected”.
The website contained text at the bottom which read “Disclaimer: Results from any tests supplied are not a diagnosis, treatment or cure for any medical or health condition. Concerns about symptoms or suspected medical or health conditions should be referred to your GP. All information on this website is designed for educational purposes, and you must never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice based on information provided here”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads:
- misleadingly implied they could definitively diagnose medical conditions related to the prostate and failed to make the tests’ limitations clear and;
- discouraged essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought.
Response
1. & 2. Lifelab Testing Ltd t/a Lifelab said they held the correct CE markings for an in-vitro diagnostic device, and that the product was suitable for sale in the UK.
On ad (a), they said the wording “Skip the Doctors” appeared only in a limited campaign and was discontinued on 16 July 2025. They said the claim was intended to be understood as meaning consumers could skip the waiting times for an appointment and an initial test, and not to avoid consulting a doctor altogether. They accepted the claim was poorly worded and potentially misleading, and said it would not be used again.
They said that it was not their intention to discourage professional medical supervision. Ad (b), and every other page on their website, included a disclaimer that the test results were not a diagnosis, and that concerns should be raised with a GP. They acknowledged the ads’ wording did not make that clear and said they would strengthen their review process to ensure all future marketing reinforced the importance of medical follow-up. They added that the test instructions explicitly stated that a positive result meant the user “must consult a physician”.
They also said they had taken action to correct their advertising. The ads had been removed and would not be used again. They said the Lifelab brand was being phased out, but that all future marketing would be managed under stricter compliance checks. Finally, they said future communications would ensure medical disclaimers were clear and that professional supervision would be explicitly encouraged.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the prominent claim “Skip The Doctors With a Rapid Prostate Home Test Kit” in ad (a)’s image to mean the test was fast in diagnosing health problems relating to the prostate, and that it provided as reliable a diagnosis as a doctor. While the caption referred to a “liver test” rather than a prostate test, we considered the primary message consumers would take from the ad was in relation to the diagnostic speed and reliability of Lifelab’s at-home prostate test.
Ad (b) claimed the test could “assess if you are in optimum health or if you require further investigation”. Ad (b) also claimed that PSA appeared in blood in higher-than-normal concentrations when the prostate was enlarged or cancerous. We considered consumers would understand this to mean the tests were accurate in diagnosing health problems relating to the prostate, including cancer.
We noted information from Prostate Cancer UK regarding the pros and cons of private PSA self-test kits for prostate cancer when sold by online and high-street pharmacies. Material on the Prostate Cancer UK website said the PSA blood test was not a test for prostate cancer, nor general prostate health. The test could help spot potential problems with the prostate, but by itself, a PSA blood test could not diagnose or rule out prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer UK’s website described the test as the first step in the pathway for diagnosing prostate cancer, which would require further tests.
We sought advice from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They said an over-the-counter PSA test was not an indicator to confirm prostate cancer. They said PSA tests marketed for home use must not claim to confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as elevated PSA levels alone were not a definitive indicator of the disease.
We noted the disclaimer in ad (b), which was the landing page for ad (a), acknowledged that the tests couldn’t be used for a diagnosis. However, as we considered that the ads would be understood by consumers as being able to diagnose prostate cancer and other prostate problems, the disclaimers misled because they contradicted, rather than clarified the impression created by the ads.
We concluded both ads (a) and (b) misleadingly implied that the at home PSA test could diagnose prostate cancer and other prostate problems, and failed to make the limitations of the test clear.
On that point, the ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification), and 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that 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 was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
We considered consumers would understand the “Skip The Doctors” claim in ad (a) to mean that the LifeLab at home test could provide the same service as a doctor, without the delay of trying to book an appointment.
We considered consumers would interpret ad (b) to mean the test could be used as a first step or regular health monitor and that the PSA level could indicate if someone was in good health or that their health required further investigation. We considered that consumers would have understood the claim that they could assess whether they were in “optimum health” or required “further investigation with a medical practitioner” meant they were able to interpret a negative or low PSA result independently, without a medical professional.
We considered consumers would interpret the ads as offering an alternative to seeking advice or diagnosis of prostate problems, including cancer, from a medical professional. Prostate problems, including prostate cancer, were conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. However, Lifelab did not supply evidence that showed the test was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
We welcomed Lifelab’s decision to remove the ads and acknowledged that they accepted the claim “Skip The Doctors” had been poorly worded and would not be used again. However, we concluded that the ads discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ads must not appear again in the form investigated. We told Lifelab Testing Ltd t/a Lifelab to ensure they did not make claims that stated or implied their at home PSA tests could make an accurate or definitive medical diagnosis of prostate problems, including prostate cancer. We also told them not to make claims that discouraged essential treatment for which medical supervision should be sought.
