Ad description
Two ads for The Skin Clinic Faversham, seen on 11 January 2022:
a. A post on The Skin Clinic Faversham’s Instagram page stated, “HAY FEVER. Allergic rhinitis / hay fever is a type of inflammation in the nose which occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Do you suffer with Sneezing, Itchy nose, eyes, roof of the mouth, Blocked / runny nose, Allergic conjunctivitis, Red or watery eyes, Loss of smell, Pain around the temples, Headache, Earache. If you have a history of hay fever and other allergies, have tried prescription and over the counter medication, please book in to see if you are suitable for an intramuscular steroid injection (Kenalog) that can surpress [sic] inflammatory and allergic responses. Don’t suffer this year let us help. [Tree emoji and syringe emoji] Cost of this treatment is £60 including a full consultation.” The ad had an image of a woman blowing her nose with further text that stated, “KENALOG HAY FEVER INJECTION” and, “A single injection can give relief for months”.
b. A post on the advertiser’s Facebook page featured the same text and image as ad (a).
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads breached the Code because they advertised Kenalog, a prescription-only medicine, to the public.Response
The Skin Clinic Faversham accepted that they should not have promoted prescription-only medicines to the general public on their Instagram and Facebook accounts and said they had since removed the ads.Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that prescription-only medicines or prescription-only medical treatments must not be advertised to the public.
The ASA understood that Kenalog was a prescription-only medicine. The post featured text stating, “If you have a history of hay fever and other allergies, have tried prescription and over the counter medication, please book in to see if you are suitable for an intramuscular steroid injection (Kenalog) that can surpress [sic] inflammatory and allergic responses” and was visible to anyone visiting The Skin Clinic Faversham’s Instagram and Facebook pages. We therefore considered the ads promoted prescription-only medicines to the general public and concluded that they breached the Code. We welcomed Skin Clinic Faversham’s assurance that they had removed the ads.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 12.12 Prescription-only medicines or prescription-only medical treatments may not be advertised to the public. (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told The Skin Clinic Faversham not to promote prescription-only medicines to the general public in future.
