ASA’s Pulse study took a wide look at how health claims appear across a large set of paid-for online ads in the UK. After analyzing 309,000 relevant ads, the agency identified seven topics of greatest regulatory concern. The categories with the highest risk of non-compliance were mushroom supplements, research peptides and baby colic and reflux products.
Speaking during a virtual event hosted by ASA, Jessica Tye, the agency’s regulatory projects manager, said that in every category reviewed, more than 86% of ads were rated as medium or high compliance risk, indicating widespread breaches of the rules.
The ASA is now calling for the implementation of several measures to make social media safer for consumers. This includes a crack down on industry advertising malpractice, sharing of best practice among regulators and more robust policies for social media platforms.
“Health and well-being advertising is one of the most dynamic and exciting parts of the advertising landscape,” Tye said. “Most advertisers want to do the right thing, and most people simply want information they can trust. Our job is to help make sure that those two things meet, especially when an ad is reaching someone at a vulnerable moment.
“Our aim is simple. Prevention rather than cure, spot risk earlier, act where harm is greatest and help people to trust the health claims that they see online.”
Evidence vs claims
Opening the ASA’s virtual event, Xand Van Tulleken, British medical doctor, broadcaster and author of the recently published book Make Me Well, spoke about the inherent issues with wellness advertising.
Van Tulleken noted that while there is “a lot to love about the wellness industry,” there is a gap between what the evidence says and what consumers believe.
“We have a swirling world of influencers and podcasters making claims and suggestions, and a culture that increasingly suggests that [wellness products] are valuable,” he said. “So, even if the claims are very strictly monitored and regulated, every week, there are hundreds of hours of podcasts available about the supplements you should take, the tests you should take and the wearable tech you should purchase. So, these things are very embedded in our lives, and we take for granted that they work.”
Van Tulleken also took issue with the medicalization of supplements and other wellness products, with advertisements often fronted by healthcare professionals or scientists to convey legitimacy. Tye agreed, adding that “we’re seeing an increasingly medicalized approach to wellness.”
Findings from ASA’s analysis also indicated that advertisers frequently made medical claims about supplements, particularly those marketed for women’s health.
Women’s hormonal health, fertility and menopause was the largest category identified by the ASA, totaling around 16,500 ads. In total, 83% of ads were identified as medium risk and 4% as high risk.
“Most of the ads that we saw here were for food supplements, and they were making medicinal claims to be able to treat symptoms for PMS or the menopause,” Tye said. “Some of the ads also played on women feeling dismissed or let down by doctors, suggesting that a supplement should feel like the way back to being in control of your health.”
She added that the ASA does not want to discourage advertisers from talking about menopause and hormonal health but that claims need to stay within the rules.
The second largest category was magnesium supplements, with 4,270 ads identified. This category also had a low number of high-risk ads (4%) but a large number of medium risk (91%). The most concerning ads in the category criticized conventional medicine or implied magnesium was a safer, simpler or more natural alternative for serious health problems.
Hair loss products followed, with 15% deemed high risk and 85% medium risk. Concerning practices included emotional framing, such as linking hair loss to confidence, insecurity and self-worth, and suggesting hair growth support products could counter GLP-1 side effects.
Three categories showed high levels of high-risk behavior
The categories with the highest level of risky advertising practices were smaller in size. For example, while there were only 350 ads in the baby colic and reflux category, 59% of these advertisements were categorized as high risk and 37% as medium risk. However, most advertisements related to sleep devices rather than supplements.
The research peptides category contained 1,240 ads, with 43% deemed high risk and 57% medium risk. None were considered low risk. This is because research peptides are illegal to advertise directly to consumers in the UK.
While on the surface many ads looked as though peptide were advertised for laboratory use, they also referenced purity, wholesale pricing, WhatsApp ordering and home delivery. Tye underscored that adding language like “research only” does absolve an advertiser of responsibility if the overall impression is that the products are for consumer use.
“Some of them also used coded language like chili peppers which we think might make ads harder for platforms to detect while still being understood by the people they’re aimed at,” she said. “Some of these ads explicitly presented peptides as an alternative to established care with claims about canceling cortisone injections or repairing tissue.”
Mushroom supplements were also flagged for high-risk activity. Across more than 2,400 ads, 53% were deemed high risk and 46% medium risk. The most concerning adverts targeted people with serious lung conditions such as COPD and asthma, with some telling smokers they could carry on smoking if they used the products.
“We saw claims here such as ‘clear your lungs, keep smoking’, and ‘smoke all you want, just clean the lungs daily’,” she said. “Obviously, these claims go beyond just overstating what a supplement can do and actively encourage people to continue with a harmful behavior.”
The ASA is now planning further work to address dangerous advertising of mushroom supplements, with outcomes to be published in due course. It also issued a warning last week to help consumers identify online ads for unsafe baby products that could put children at risk of serious harm.
ASA’s recommendations for responsible advertising
To prevent further harmful advertising practices, the ASA has issued three recommendations. The first is that advertisers should apply tougher scrutiny before an ad containing a health claim goes live. They should consider whether the language used is compliant and seek advice before publishing if there is any uncertainty.
Second, regulators should share intelligence and act in tandem. This will help to spot trends and emerging risks to allow for early intervention, protecting consumers and giving businesses a level playing field.
Third, the agency says social media platforms must implement more robust policies and proactive steps to detect and remove illegal or non-compliant health and wellness ads.
“Whilst advertisers are responsible for their claims, when ads can be targeted and optimized at this speed and scale, the system around them has to work hard too,” Tye said.
