Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A website for Teddington Homeopathy, www.teddingtonhomeopathy.com, featured a page headed "CEASE". Text stated "CEASE Therapy was developed by Dutch physician Tinus Smits M.D. who was looking for a way to help autistic children. Dr Smits helped over 300 children prior to his death in 2010. Information about his work and several of his cases were published in 'Autism Beyond Despair' in 2010. While Dr. Smits methods were originally designed for children with autism, he and those that he trained have found CEASE Therapy to be beneficial in other conditions including ADHD and ADD. CEASE Therapy involves the gentle removal of toxins from the body using a form of Homeopathy known as Isotherapy. Orthomolecular support is offered in the form of nutritional supplements to nourish the body and restore intestinal function. Classical homeopathic remedies are also prescribed to support the individual". The page also contained links to external websites containing "homeopathy-for-autism" and "homeopathy-and-autism-faq" in the visible URLS, and a testimonial headed "The following testimonial is from a parent of a child currently receiving CEASE Therapy", which described improvements seen in a child diagnosed with autism. Stated beneath this text was "This testimonial represents only the personal opinions of people who have come to me for homeopathy and does not represent evidence".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the claims that CEASE therapy could treat autism were misleading and could be substantiated; and
2. the ad discouraged essential treatment for autism, a condition for which medical supervision should be sought.
Response
Teddington Homeopathy stated that the page correctly referenced the clinical work of a medical doctor and contained no claims. They stated that in clinical practice Dr Smits found CEASE to be of benefit to individuals suffering from autism and other conditions on the autistic spectrum, and that this was substantiated by his patient records. They stated that the text was not an advertisement or form of marketing, but was intended to provide the general public with correct information about different healthcare options. They removed the testimonial and the section regarding removal of toxins.
Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that the web page included information about the history of CEASE therapy. However, we noted that the advertiser provided the therapy in question and considered that the page constituted marketing for the purposes of the CAP Code. The page also contained references to Tinus Smits' experiences with "helping" patients with autism as well as other references to the benefits of CEASE therapy for autism, including material within the testimonial. We considered that visitors to the website would understand the claims in the testimonial as factual, regardless of the disclaimer, and that the claims within the testimonial would therefore be understood as relating to the objective benefits of CEASE therapy. We therefore considered that the ad made claims for the efficacy of CEASE therapy in treating autism.
We welcomed Teddington Homeopathy's decision to remove the testimonial and other material from the page, but considered that the information about Tinus Smits and the URLs still implied a benefit for homeopathy and CEASE therapy for autism, and that the intention of CEASE therapy was to treat autism. Although advertisers may provide information about the history of a therapy, care should be taken not to make unsupported claims for the treatment when describing this background. The Code also stated that marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, and that this included offering specific advice on, or treatment for, such conditions unless that advice or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional. We considered that autism was a condition for which medical supervision should be sought. In the absence of evidence to demonstrate that CEASE therapy could treat autism and that any treatment was carried out by a suitably qualified healthcare professional, we concluded that the ad was misleading and breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
(Misleading advertising),
3.7
3.7
Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.
(Substantiation) and
12.1
12.1
Objective claims must be backed by evidence, if relevant consisting of trials conducted on people. Substantiation will be assessed on the basis of the available scientific knowledge.
Medicinal or medical claims and indications may be made for a medicinal product that is licensed by the MHRA, VMD or under the auspices of the EMA, or for a CE-marked medical device. A medicinal claim is a claim that a product or its constituent(s) can be used with a view to making a medical diagnosis or can treat or prevent disease, including an injury, ailment or adverse condition, whether of body or mind, in human beings.
Secondary medicinal claims made for cosmetic products as defined in the appropriate European legislation must be backed by evidence. These are limited to any preventative action of the product and may not include claims to treat disease.
and
12.2
12.2
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 is conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional. Accurate and responsible general information about such conditions may, however, be offered (see rule
12.1
12.1
Objective claims must be backed by evidence, if relevant consisting of trials conducted on people. Substantiation will be assessed on the basis of the available scientific knowledge.
Medicinal or medical claims and indications may be made for a medicinal product that is licensed by the MHRA, VMD or under the auspices of the EMA, or for a CE-marked medical device. A medicinal claim is a claim that a product or its constituent(s) can be used with a view to making a medical diagnosis or can treat or prevent disease, including an injury, ailment or adverse condition, whether of body or mind, in human beings.
Secondary medicinal claims made for cosmetic products as defined in the appropriate European legislation must be backed by evidence. These are limited to any preventative action of the product and may not include claims to treat disease.
).
Health professionals will be deemed suitably qualified only if they can provide suitable credentials, for example, evidence of: relevant professional expertise or qualifications; systems for regular review of members' skills and competencies and suitable professional indemnity insurance covering all services provided; accreditation by a professional or regulatory body that has systems for dealing with complaints and taking disciplinary action and has registration based on minimum standards for training and qualifications.
(Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Teddington Homeopathy not to make unsupported claims for CEASE therapy, including testimonials, or advertise treatments for autism that were not carried out under suitably qualified medical supervision.
