Will the Nurofen ad ban set a precedent for a marketing claims crackdown?

The ruling will certainly help as a precedent for tackling similar advertising that is unsatisfactory. I would like to see all NEW claims approved before they appear in advertising. If a claim has been approved then it can be used in new advertising unless new evidence comes to light that negates the claim.

I would be tempted to agree apart forma potential log-jam and whoever is responsible for the testing. And who pays.

Seems to me that we could be cheaper and yet offer more deterrence by charging for every time a false claim is made in an advert before it is removed. And consider jail terms for a companies advertising commpliance director/and or the advertising company.

The first part of my suggestion would catch the very large advertisers as the fines could be huge. The jail term is to make the manufacturers very wary of breaching the guidelines. Of course jail is expensive but tagging directors to staying at home other than medical appointments may be the lower level of enforcement.

And for those of you thinking of politicians and lies ….. let us get the advertisers sorted first.

I don’t see why it is an insurmountable problem to have all NEW claims in advertising vetted, paid for by the company. Existing claims can be reused.

Thinking of corporate punishment, it’s time to hold senior staff accountable and punish them rather than having fines, which are just passed on to the consumer in increased costs of goods and services.

This keeps cropping up. Given the amount of new adverts across all fields and products we would be tying up vast quantities of “experts” (who might they be and where would we find them?) checking claims, tying up testing resources in a bureaucratic empire when all we have to do is treat most adverts with common sense and a sceptical outlook and require the regulators to impose very heavy penalties on the real misleading and fraudulent offenders. We need “experts” doing real productive jobs. Oh, and if the “experts” endorse an advert and it proves wrong, do we then take legal action against the “experts”.

I don’t believe Voltarol is capable of targeting particular parts of my body effectively, because that has been publicised. Similarly I don’t believe Nurofen will target, just help reduce pain. If we are “educated” on misleading claims, like superfoods, for example, then those many people with common sense can make a choice. Perhaps apply the same scepticism as we do to political statements?

I am not over-bothered whether the claims made for an X-Hose turn out to be false but it does worry me that misleading claims are made for medical remedies because they could lead to sufferers not seeking the best treatment for their ailments. I would agree that all NEW claims for medicinal products should be put to the test before advertising is permitted.

We have discussed the claims made for foods in other Conversations and the UK has guidance based on European legislation: gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/204320/Nutrition_and_health_claims_guidance_November_2011.pdf It is quite clear what is and is not allowed.

There are infringements, of course, but I believe the degree of control is adequate. We have tight control on the licensing of drug (both prescription and other drugs) manufacture and sale, so I don’t understand how there is not control to strongly discover companies from making false claims, as RB has done for Nurofen.

Presumably all these drugs are licensed so they meet the basic requirements to treat the ailment(s) for which they are sold, so it is not a safety or function issue. It is simply how some people are persuaded to buy more of them than they might need. If you have a particular ailment – back ache maybe – and the drug helps, it has done its job. You are unlikely to have ladies pains, joint pains or other pains at the same time so are you likely to buy all these varieties at the same shopping trip?

I am averse to salesmen and marketing almost on principle (I was one told it is the 90% of salesmen that get the other 10% a bad name – but I don’t believe that 🙂 ) because I like the facts on which to make my own mind up rather than listen to persuasive people trying to make my mind up for me. Perhaps we need to educate people better to make their own minds up by asking questions – try the pharmacist in this case.

Incidentally this is why I am occasionally critical of Which? campaigns and surveys that lack information or facts – I prefer to look at the problem and make my own mind up, not be bulldozed with an unbalanced case into voting the chosen way. Perhaps the ASA equivalent could be applied here? 🙂

If the manufacturers of Nurofen wanted to sell it as a painkiller suitable for a variety of conditions , I can see no problem as long as they stick to ones that are normally treated with the drug.

They could also make a valid claim that ‘Nurofen is considerably more expensive and equally effective as ibuprofen sold in most supermarkets’. Maybe I should have gone into marketing. 🙂

How’s the dog basket charger?
We, consumers, have to be savvy. Life is about dealing with such things. I do not condone fraudulent or misleading advertising but equally we have to learn to deal with life as it is. Simply publicise that Nurofen is the equivalent of cheap Ibuprofen and I bet many people will still opt for the “trusted brand”. In the same way people buy water in expensive bottles when it is free out of their taps.

The problem as posted elsewhere, is that consumers may unwittingly take the same drug for the various aches and pains such as headache , backache etc because they believe they ARE specific to an area. It is irrelevant what the little bits of paper and the warnings as humans being simple creatures simply remember those big bold adverts.

The manufacturers marketing is potentially dangerous and on those grounds alone should be hammered.

Reading Wikipedia lists the potential side-effects. They may not be over common but with millions taking them daily it adds up.

nhs.uk/Conditions/Painkillers-ibuprofen/Pages/Missed-or-extra-doses.aspx
If you have taken more than your recommended daily dose of ibuprofen, contact your GP or call NHS 111. If you have taken a large overdose, go to your nearest ..

Malcolm – It is interesting to explore the concept of a ‘trusted brand’.
– Perhaps it is easiest to equate trusted brand with the market share, which makes, Coca Cola and McDonalds trusted brands. A significant minority has nothing but contempt for these companies.
– Familiarity can create a trusted brand. It’s well established that advertising works, which I assume accounts for the popularity of Nurofen. As far as I know there is no evidence that Nurofen is any better than other brands, but maybe it comes in a nicer looking box. Maybe it comes with better instructions in larger print, which is the only advantage I have yet found with the better known brands of prescription drugs.
–Selling products at a higher price is sometimes used to convince us that a product must be better than other brands. Maybe that’s a factor with Nurofen.

I question whether the average consumer is likely to be ‘savvy’ over pharmaceuticals. They will appreciate that ibuprofen gel applied to a sore knee could give targeted pain relief and many asthmatics know that inhaled steroids are less likely to cause side effects than oral steroids. Some will know that there are drugs that genuinely target specific sites (unlike ibuprofen) but probably as a result of a medical condition that they or a family member suffers from. The fact that many buy Nurofen rather than an equally effective and significantly cheaper brand of ibuprofen suggests to me that the population is anything but savvy in this context.

Dieseltaylor – I share your concerns regarding safety. Ibuprofen is a very useful drug but selling it in supermarkets carries various risks. I don’t watch TV advertising but I’ll bet there is little warning of the risks associated with Nurofen (which would obviously apply to other brands too).

“Perhaps it is easiest to equate trusted brand with the market share””. I don’t follow the logic of this. These are jusr default brands – widely available but not consequentially “trusted”. I would trust, for example, Miele, Marks and Spencer food, Felco secateurs, Veritas wood planes. Not necessarily market leaders but products that have given me cause to trust them with decent credentials behind them. Whirlpool might be high in market share but I would not “trust” them in the way I would other appliance manufacturers.

It is a shame when brands are sold so someone else can simply trade on their established credentials, but without continuing to support those credentials – Qualcast perhaps as an example. I believe the ultimate owner of a branded product should be very clearly shown; we can then decide whether we are comfortable dealing with them. As an example I have no respect for Coca Cola’s operation and with control of Innocent Smoothies I would not trust the latter either – maybe wrongly but attitudes can be contagious.

It was simply one interpretation of ‘trusted brand’, Malcolm. As I said, some of us have nothing but contempt for the company, but for people to continue to buy Coca Cola there must be a fair number who do trust the brand.

I have too have brands that I trust, both of products and retailers, but there are actions that can put me off brands too. For example, I generally avoid Nestle products for ethical and other reasons well documented on Wikipedia. I avoid various products because they are/were expensive compared with alternatives. One example is Nurofen, which is no better than ibuprofen sold in the supermarket for a fraction of the price.

We need to keep up the pressure, Rob. The recent ASA ruling overturns one made in 2012 regarding Nurofen being able to target the source of pain.

I want advertising that is ‘legal, decent, honest and truthful’ by everyone’s standards – not just the lax standards of the ASA. At least you have done something, which is more than most of us have done.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

‘Voltarol’ is a popular pain-relief gel sold in countless chemists, supermarkets, general stores and on-line. I have not checked its formulation as it comes in various types.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

We don’t have any Voltarol in the house right now but from memory I think there is a full patient information leaflet covering application and possible side-effects inside every pack. It’s not a secret. The UK authorities that license drugs for medicinal purposes are strict on companies providing this information but not everyone reads the leaflet, of course, so complications can occur.