Radiant Life Technologies
189 Binniehill Road
Balloch
Cumbernauld
G68 9JH
- Trading As:
- www.comra-therapy.co.uk
- Product:
- Delta Laser Therapy
Background Information
Misleading Advertising – Radiant Life Technologies breached UK Advertising Standards Code for making unsubstantiated efficacy claims on www.comra-therapy.co.uk.
The ASA published an adjudication against Radiant Life Technologies on 16 February 2011. Radiant Life Technologies made a number of unsubstantiated efficacy claims for CoMra Therapy and its effects, and also made a number of claims questioning the efficacy of medical lasers and conventional medicine. Radiant Life Technologies claimed that the products would provide patients with the means of healing themselves, by giving the body the ability to reorganise its diseased cells, and were highly effective in the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of diseases and had inexhaustible possibilities in the realm of healing. The ASA was concerned that no evidence was provided to support the efficacy claims. It considered that Radiant Life Technologies implied that the product treated disease in a way that was different to and better than conventional medical treatments. The ASA also considered that consumers could be discouraged from seeking essential medical treatment for serious medical conditions.
Although the ASA has adjudicated against Radiant Life Technologies and has made several subsequent requests for an assurance of future compliance, Radiant Life Technologies continues to feature problematic claims on the www.comra-therapy.co.uk website. Because of Radiant Life Technology’s continued non- compliance we took the decision to place their details on this section of the ASA website on 07 February 2012. These details shall remain in place until such time as Radiant Life Technology has appropriately amended its website to ensure compliance with the ASA adjudication and the CAP Code.
Summary of ASA ruling (16 February 2011)
A leaflet, for coMra-Therapy, made a number of claims about how the product worked and its effects, including "Help the Healer Within coMra-Therapy The Greatest Breakthrough in Holistic Healing this Century ... a medical therapy which most closely resembles the way in which the ... body heals itself ... co-operate[s] with the physical body - that is the healer within - by providing it with all the necessary conditions it needs for what it alone is most qualified to do: namely, to heal itself ...
In June 2009, Radiant Life Technologies made what amounts to the greatest breakthrough in medical science this century: they took MIL-Therapy to a totally new level through their discovery of the much sought-after technique which now combines all four ... radiances into one coherently-operating whole ... The infra-red laser provides the stimulus for healing. The four basic colours provide the message to the healer within; that is, regenerate or rejuvenate, depending upon what is being treated ... The ultrasound provides a gentle but firm impetus, allowing the diseased cells to reorganise themselves internally much more quickly. It is important to note here that cells become dis-eased [sic] when they become disorganised internally for a particular reason; the cause of the disease”.
The ad also made a number of claims about medical lasers and conventional medicine, including “... we cannot ignore the many disastrous side-effects of allopathic medicine. Pharmacotherapy has also been proven to damage other areas in the body, including the nervous system, and all too often such damage is irremediable. The most alarming fact of all is that the often severe negative pathological effects of these drugs are largely ignored. Invariably these only show up much later in a patient's medical history, by which time the damage is often irreparable. Despite having full knowledge of the negative side-effects of a great number of the drugs in use today, many physicians continue to prescribe them. Consequently allopathic medicine has become an extremely mercenary business, and like all mercenary businesses today, modern forms of healing also have an inbuilt obsolescence factor ... low intensity lasers are more and more proving to be highly effective in both the treatment and the prevention of a wide variety of diseases ... laser treatments do not interfere with allopathic cures, but instead enhance the positive effects of allopathic medicine ... Physicians who recognize that people cannot afford the very high and continuously escalating cost of allopathic medicine are turning to alternative healing practices and complementary medicine ... It is now abundantly clear that low-intensity lasers have inexhaustible possibilities in the realm of healing".
The ASA noted that the ad claimed that the product would provide patients with the means of healing themselves by giving the body the ability to reorganise its diseased cells and was highly effective in the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of diseases and had inexhaustible possibilities in the realm of healing. We noted that we had not seen evidence to substantiate those efficacy claims nor had we seen evidence to demonstrate how patients were to use the product. Whilst we noted the product had a CE mark, we understood that a CE mark demonstrated that a product conformed to the essential health, safety and environmental requirements set out in EU directives, but that a CE mark did not allow advertisers to make any health or medical claims on behalf of their product. In the absence of any evidence to support the efficacy claims made in the ad, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
We noted RLT's comments that people were free to choose how they were treated for medical conditions. However, we noted that the ad claimed that conventional drug treatment had been proven to cause irreparable damage to the body, left the cause of disease unaddressed, had severe negative pathological effects and negative side effects that were ignored, disempowered patients, had an inbuilt obsolescence factor and had become a mercenary business. We considered that, alongside the efficacy claims for the product, the ad implied that the product treated disease in a way that was different to and better than conventional medical treatments. We therefore also considered that the ad could discourage consumers from seeking essential medical treatment for serious medical conditions, and we concluded that the ad breached the Code on this point.
Summary of ASA ruling (12 December 2012)
Two magazine ads, appearing in the publication What Doctors Don't Tell You.
Ad (a) stated "COMRA - THERAPY IS THE LATEST TOWARDS HOLISTIC, MEDICAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY". Further text stated, under the subheading "Medicine" stated, "The Delta Laser is already being used by doctors, therapists and patients themselves around the world in treating such varying conditions as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, injuries and many others". Under the subheading "Sports and Physiotherapy" the ad stated "The Delta Laser is ideally suited for treating sports injuries and speeding up recover and reducing pain, as well as assisting therapists in helping those with long-standing chronic conditions". The ad also featured testimonials. Contact information at the bottom of the ad stated "Visit www.coMra-Therapy.co.uk or contact oliver@radiant-life-technologies.com - 07985 340944".
Ad (b) was also headed "COMRA-THERAPY". It stated, "FREE YOURSELF FROM THE ALLOPATHIC MEDICAL SYSTEM! We believe that the power to heal belongs in your hands! Not in the hands of a corrupt system. We believe in freedom! Treatments for Allergies, Arthritis, Asthma, Autoimmune, Blood, Bones, Cystitis, Dental, Diabetes, Eczema, Glands, Immune System, Injuries, Ischemia, Joints, Kidneys, Mastitis, Muscles, Neurology, Organs, Osteoporosis, Skin, Stress, Strokes and many more". Further text stated, "Visit www.coMra-Therapy.co.uk Tel 07985 340944 Email oliver@radiant-life-technologies.com"
The ASA was concerned by Radiant Life Technologies' lack of a substantive response and apparent disregard for the Code.
The ASA held that ads (a) and (b) made numerous efficacy claims that the product could be used to treat a range of conditions including, "arthritis", "multiple sclerosis", "fibromyalgia", "sports injuries", "long-standing chronic conditions", "Allergies", "Asthma", "Autoimmune", "Cystitis", "Diabetes", "Eczema", "Ischemia", "Mastitis", "Osteoporosis", "Stress", "Strokes". Claims were also made that the product could provide treatments for: "Skin"; "Organs"; "Neurology"; "Muscles"; "Joints"; "Kidneys"; "Glands"; "Dental"; "Bones"; "Blood"; "Immune System"; "skin rejuvenation" and "hair".
In the absence of any evidence to support these claims we concluded that they were unsubstantiated and therefore in breach of the Code. The references to providing treatment for arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke also breached the Code because they discouraged essential medical treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
Relevant Adjudication
