Adverts for three supplements brands that claimed to help treat conditions including autism and ADHD have been banned.
A paid-for Facebook ad in April for Aspire Nutrition said: “The secret weapon parents of ASD kids swear by”, while a review attributed to “Tara K. Verified Buyer”, said “This has helped my 5 year old with Level 2 autism so much.”
Further text read: “As parents of children with autism, we all share the same dream: to see our children thrive in school.”
Another paid-for Facebook ad in January, for Drop Supplements, stated: “For people with stress, anxiety, brain fog, ADHD … Happy Mind Drops – your new secret adaptogen against stress! Prepare yourself to unleash your true potential and banish your mental barriers.”
And a third paid-for Facebook ad for Spectrum Awakening stated: “My five-year-old son Scout is diagnosed with receptive expressive language disorder and sensory disorder. Until I found Spectrum Awakening he could barely put a sentence together with very limited speech and words and lots of jargon.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated all three ads over whether the claims that each supplement could help to prevent or cure autism, was in breach of regulations.
Aspire Nutrition said that on being informed of the complaint, they had stopped ads being sent to UK residents who visited their website and had withdrawn the ad entirely for all audiences.
Drop Supplements said their ads featuring Happy Mind made no direct or implied statements about curing, treating or preventing ailments or diseases.
However, the ASA has disagreed and claims the ad would be understood by most consumers as implied claims that the product could prevent, treat or cure human disease.
Spectrum Awakening did not respond to the ASA’s inquiries.
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