Medicines, remedies and therapies

Helpful information on the advertising rules for medicines, remedies and therapies and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in this area.

Before advertisers can make medicinal claims in their ads – a claim that a product can treat or prevent disease, injury, ailment or adverse condition - they must be sure their product is classified as a medicine under the advertising rules. This means the product needs to be classified by the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as a medicine and the advertisers must hold the relevant licence before marketing the product in the UK. All ads for the product then must conform with this licence and with the product’s summary of product characteristics (SPC).

Once this has been established, ads must then follow the rules for medicines which include: not addressing children, not suggesting the products effects are guaranteed or absolutely safe with no side-effects, and not using health professionals or celebrities to endorse the medicine. Prescription-only medicines are prohibited from being advertised to the public and claims for so-called herbal alternatives are equally likely to be problematic.

For homeopathic medicinal products registered in the UK, ads must include a warning to consult a doctor if symptoms persist. Likewise, it is mandatory for ads for traditional herbal medicinal products to include a statement that makes reference to the fact the product is “based on traditional use only” and to not infer evidence for the product’s efficacy is based on clinical trial data.

Advertising in the health industry is not just confined to medicines and products and there are also strict rules for healthcare professionals advertising their services. This includes homeopathy, osteopathy and chiropractic services. The advertising rules provide a detailed list of conditions that these professionals can claim in their ads to treat, and a detailed list of those they cannot. It is important all these professionals are able to back up any claims made in their ads, including in testimonials, with robust evidence and that they avoid claiming they can “cure”, “prevent” or “heal” conditions with their therapies.

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Latest rulings

Anthony Grant t/a Resonator.uk
- Internet (website content), Social media (own site)
- 09 June 2021
A website and Facebook ad for an electronic bio-resonance machine was banned for stating that it was an effective alternative to vaccination against COVID-19.
Homeopathy UK
- Internet (website content)
- 19 May 2021
A website ad for a homeopathy company was banned for discouraging essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
JST Nutrition Ltd
- Social media (influencer or affiliate ad)
- 19 May 2021
Seven posts on Jodie Marsh's Instagram account, promoting a food supplement retailer, were banned for making specific health claims which were not were authorised on the GB Register and for not ensuring that the posts were obviously identifiable as ads.
Red Light Therapy Ltd
- Search (paid), Internet (website content)
- 19 May 2021
A website post and a paid-for Google ad promoting red light therapy were banned for discouraging essential treatment for which medical supervision should be sought.

View all rulings

Medicines, remedies and therapies

Helpful information on the advertising rules for medicines, remedies and therapies and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in this area.

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Latest rulings

Anthony Grant t/a Resonator.uk

Homeopathy UK

JST Nutrition Ltd

Red Light Therapy Ltd

Help getting it right

Popular advice

Bioresonance Therapy

Health: Osteopathy

Health: Chiropractic

Relevant codes

12 Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products