The Advertising Standards Authority has introduced its new Therapeutic & Health Advertising Code, which is now effective for all ads in this sector.
The code covers all words and visual depictions in all advertising for therapeutic products (medicines & medical devices), natural health products and dietary supplements, health services and methods of treatment.
This code may also apply when therapeutic or health claims are made in ads for other products or services not explicitly listed in the code.
The ASA says the code is in a new easy-to-use format and is effectively a consolidation of three old codes (Therapeutic Products Advertising Code, Therapeutic Services Advertising Code and the Code for Advertising Weight Management Products and Services) and the guidance note on the weight management code). The object of this Code is to ensure that advertisers maintain rigorous standards in therapeutic and health advertising.
“It is worth noting,” says the unsigned ASA release, “that the Therapeutic Advertising Pre-Vetting Service (TAPS) is a user-pays service available to all advertisers making therapeutic and health claims to help minimise the risk of breaching the ASA Codes of Practice as well as other industry codes and relevant legislation.”
- View the new code here
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