“Misleading” advert banned after making unsubstantiated claims
A Stratford clinic has been told by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) not to repeat claims it made on its website about its hormone replacement therapy treatment.
The ASA adjucated on a complaint about Stratford Dermatherapy Clinic and its bio-identical hormone replacement therapy treatment, which it said was safer than synthetic hormones. It also made claims about the blood tests it performed.
The advert must not appear again in its current form, the ASA ruled, after upholding both parts of the complaint.
The ASA, which took expert medical advice before making its judgement, said: “We told Stratford Dermatherapy Clinic not to state or imply that bio-identical HRT was safer than non bio-identical HRT in relation to compounded hormones.
“We told them not to use the claim in relation to uncompounded hormones with the exception of the bio-identical progestogen hormone – progesterone – which was safer than non bio-identical progestogens in relation to the risks of developing breast cancer.
“We also told Stratford Dermatherapy Clinic not to state or imply that compounded HRT that provided tailored treatments to patients had any greater effect than conventional HRT that was not compounded.”
The advert breached the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing on three rules about misleading advertising, substantiation, and medical products.
