Ad description
A magazine ad that appeared in the publication What Doctors Don't Tell You for an alternative health treatment stated "For candida, bloated stomach, irritable bowel, leaky-gut, skin disorder, continuous constipation or diarrhoea and lack of oxygen and energy ... OxyTech regenerates your colon lining, so that it functions normally. Can children take OxyTech? It is ideal for children at any age who are constipated or are taking antibiotics. If the child is too small to swallow capsules, the contents from a capsule can be spread on food, mixed in a smoothie, taken with honey etc. If I get food poisoning? Take a large dose of OxyTech (say up to 10 capsules) as soon as possible. My baby has colic? If you are breast feeding, you take OxyTech to regulate your body. If bottle feeding give baby OxyTech powder by teaspoon mixed with honey".
Issue
The Nightingale Collaboration challenged whether the ad made medicinal claims for a food product.
Response
Dulwich Health Ltd (Dulwich Health) acknowledged receipt of our letter and said they noted our comments.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that OxyTech was a dietary supplement. The CAP Code prohibited marketing communications that claimed that a food could prevent, treat or cure human disease. It also required that reduction-of disease-risk claims and claims that referred to children's development and health to be authorised by the European Commission. Because the ad made prohibited claims and we had not seen evidence that the reduction-of disease-risk claims and claims relating to children's health were authorised by the European Commission, we concluded that it breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6.2 15.6.2 Claims that state or imply a food prevents, treats or cures human disease. Reduction-of disease-risk claims are acceptable if authorised by the European Commission (EU Register) and 15.17 15.17 Claims referring to children's development and health are acceptable if authorised by the European Commission. (Nutrition Claims and Health Claims).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Dulwich Health Ltd not to state or imply that their products could prevent, treat or cure human disease. We also told them not to make reduction-of disease-risk claims and claims that referred to children's development and health unless authorised by the European Commission. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
