1. HBW Insight
  2. >>Geography
  3. >>Europe
  4. >>United Kingdom

Infographic: Mental Health, Menopause And Weight Loss Ads Targeted By ASA's AI Monitoring System

 
• By David Ridley

Consumer health, particularly food supplements that make unauthorized medical or health claims, has been a key area of focus for the UK Advertising Standards Authority's recently introduced Active Ad Monitoring system, which captures ads by relevant advertisers from a range of social media platforms, and applies machine learning algorithms to identify and flag likely non-compliant ads, which are then sent to experts to review and act on. This infographic highlights recent ASA rulings against ads for supplements claiming to treat anxiety and stress, menopause, autism/ADHD and weight loss, which were flagged by AI.

Complaints
• Source: Shutterstock: ESB Professional

Since 2021, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has been scaling up its Active Ad Monitoring system, which captures ads by relevant advertisers from a range of social media platforms, and applies machine learning algorithms to identify and flag likely non-compliant ads, which are then sent to experts to review and act on.

Consumer health has been one of these key problem areas for the system – which now processes more than two million ads a month – particularly food supplements that make unauthorized medical or health claims. 

“Earlier this year, for the first time, we started to do very broad searches of ads that make medical or health related claims,” the ASA’s head of data science, Adam Davison, explained in an recently-published HBW Insight interview (see side bar). 

“And this raised a selection of issues that weren't necessarily prevalent in the complaints we received from the public, but when we looked at them, we thought they were significant areas that needed more attention.”

As the following infographic shows, this has resulted in a number of rulings in the last two months against ads for supplements claiming to treat anxiety and stress, menopause, autism/ADHD and weight loss.

More from United Kingdom

Over The Counter: Brands, Brexit And New Self-Care Business Models, With PAGB’s Michelle Riddalls

 
• By David Ridley

HBW Insight catches up with UK OTC industry association CEO Michelle Riddalls to talk about digital self-care and the unrealized promise of Brexit - part 2.

Clasado Divests Bimuno Prebiotic Consumer Brand To UK’s Eleat

 
• By David Ridley

Eleat's acquisition encompasses Clasado's Bimuno finished supplement product line and customer base, but not its Bimuno GOS proprietary galactooligosaccharide prebiotic ingredient.

‘The Only Certainty Is Uncertainty’ In The UK’s Consumer Health Market

 
• By David Ridley

While uncertainty might reign in the UK consumer health market - which grew by by 8% to £4.1bn ($5.3bn) in 2024 - “opportunity is everywhere” according to NielsenIQ health and beauty insights manager Alex Heffernan.

Over The Counter: Evolving The UK Consumer Health Industry, With PAGB’s Michelle Riddalls

 
• By David Ridley

HBW Insight catches up with PAGB CEO Michelle Riddalls to chat about the association's new five year plan. Riddalls also reflects on the successes of the last five years, including relaunching the UK Reclassification Alliance, which has published a list of Rx-to-OTC switches the government would like to see applications for. Part one of two.

More from Europe

Over The Counter: Brands, Brexit And New Self-Care Business Models, With PAGB’s Michelle Riddalls

 
• By David Ridley

HBW Insight catches up with UK OTC industry association CEO Michelle Riddalls to talk about digital self-care and the unrealized promise of Brexit - part 2.

Plenty For Industry To Do As EU Wastewater Directive Faces Legal Challenges

 
• By David Ridley

Engaging with EU member state legislators, stressing the impact of national EPR systems on the accessibility, availability, and affordability of medicines, reformulating products to reduce their financial contribution, and lobbying for expanding the scope of EPR schemes to include other polluting industries are all ways that the European consumer health industry can try and influence the way that the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is transposed into national legislation, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran explains.

French Agency Proposes Effective EU Ban On CBD In Foods And Cosmetics

 
• By David Ridley

France's food safety regulator ANSES is proposing a reproductive toxicity category 1B classification for CBD under the EU's CLP regulation, which would mean an effective ban on CBD in cosmetics and foods. However, French hemp industry association UIVEC hopes that new evidence coming out of a European Commission review will put the issue to bed before it gets that far.