Clause 14 Information, Claims and Comparisons

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Clause 14
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14

Clauses 6 and 18 may also be relevant.

14.1

A comparison is only permitted in promotional material if:

• it is not misleading

• medicines or services for the same needs or intended for the same purpose are compared

• one or more material, relevant, substantiable and representative features are compared

• no confusion is created between the medicine advertised and that of a competitor or between the advertiser’s trademarks, brand names, other distinguishing marks and those of a competitor

• the trademarks, brand names, other distinguishing marks, medicines, services, activities or circumstances of a competitor are not discredited or denigrated

• no unfair advantage is taken of the reputation of a trademark, brand name or other distinguishing marks of a competitor

• medicines or services are not presented as imitations or replicas of goods or services bearing a competitor’s trademark or brand name.

  • Clause 14.1 Comparisons

    The Code does not preclude the use of other companies’ brand names when making comparisons.

    Comparisons with other products are usually made to show an advantage of the advertised product over its comparator. Provided that such critical references to another company’s products are accurate, balanced, fair, etc. and can be substantiated, they are acceptable under the Code.

14.2

When promotional material refers to published studies, clear references must be given.

  • Clause 14.2 References

    The references referred to are those to published material, including the use of quotations, tables, graphs and artwork.

14.3

When promotional material refers to data on file, the relevant part of that data must be provided as soon as possible, and certainly within ten working days, in response to a request from a health professional or other relevant decision maker.

14.4

Promotion must encourage the rational use of a medicine by presenting it objectively and without exaggerating its properties. Exaggerated or all-embracing claims must not be made and superlatives must not be used except for those limited circumstances where they relate to a clear fact about a medicine. Claims should not imply that a medicine or an active ingredient has some special merit, quality or property unless this can be substantiated.

  • Clause 14.4 Superlatives

    Superlatives are grammatical expressions which denote the highest quality or degree, such as best, strongest, widest, etc. A claim that a product was ‘the best’ treatment for a particular condition, for example, could not be substantiated as there are too many variables to enable such a sweeping claim to be proven. The use of a superlative is acceptable only if it can be substantiated as a simple statement of fact which can be very clearly demonstrated, such as that a particular medicine is the most widely prescribed in the UK for a certain condition, provided that this is not presented in a way which misleads as to its significance.

  • Clause 14.4 Use of the Words ‘The’ and ‘Unique’

    In certain circumstances, ‘the’ can imply a special merit, quality or property for a medicine which is unacceptable under this clause if it cannot be substantiated. For example, a claim that a product is ‘The analgesic’ implies that it is, in effect, the best and might not be acceptable.

    Similarly, care needs to be taken with the use of ‘unique’. Although ‘unique’ may sometimes be used to describe some clearly defined special feature of a medicine, often it may simply imply a general superiority. In such instances, it is not possible to substantiate the claim as the claim itself is so ill defined.

  • Clause 14.4 Benefit/Risk Profile

    The benefit/risk profile of a medicine must be presented in such a way as to comply with the Code. Particular attention should also be paid to Clauses 6.1 and 6.4.

14.5

None of the individual screens or pages, etc. of a multi screen/page advertisement must be false or misleading when read in isolation.