Got a tense, nervous headache about advertising medicines?

26 October 2004

Although they can be advertised to the medical and allied professions, prescription-only medicines (POMs) quite sensibly should not be advertised to the public. Not only does the CAP Code forbid POMs being advertised in this way but medicines legislation also prohibits any ad to the general public that is likely to lead to the use of a POM.

Sometimes ads obviously fall foul of the Code. Marketers, helping consumers with their pursuit of eternal youth and advertising the latest 'cosmeceutical' are in danger of breaking the Code and the law if they refer to 'Botox' in their ads. Marketers cannot either name it directly or describe the treatment in a way that could only imply they are offering Botox. If they offer Botox and other injected treatments, CAP believes marketers should refer to 'cosmetic fillers' or 'injected fillers' because those terms could apply equally to both prescription and non-prescription treatments.

Sometimes, however, marketers are not quite so blatant as to name a medicine directly. The ASA recently investigated an ad for a clinic that offered "revolutionary medication [that] curbs appetite and helps burn fat". Although medical practitioners who prescribed the drugs saw the dieters regularly, the ASA considered that the ad was unacceptable even though it did not mention the POMs by name. Similarly, although they go to great lengths to avoid referring to Viagra by name, some marketers allude to the medicine by showing blue pills in the diamond shape characteristic of Viagra. CAP recommends them to remove allusions to Viagra and avoid similar product names so that consumers are not likely to assume the product has the same, proven effect as Viagra.
If you have questions about advertising medicines, whether they are prescription or not, you should first contact the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). You can reach the MHRA on tel: 020 7084 2000 (weekdays 0900 1700), fax: 020 7084 2353 or e-mail: info@mhra.gsi.gov.uk Then, if you want more help, the CAP Copy Advice team will be happy to help you.