Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Ads for adjustable beds or chairs are often targeted at sufferers of conditions such as arthritis, rheumatism and bronchitis. Normally, we prohibit references to serious conditions because consumers might be discouraged from seeking help from a qualified practitioner (Rule 12.2 and the CAP Help Note on Health, Beauty and Slimming Claims that Refer to Medical Conditions). But the Copy Advice team accepts that a well-supported posture might give temporary pain relief and marketers may claim that products that support a good posture can offer positional relief or comfort to sufferers. In 1998, the ASA ruled against claims that adjustable chairs and beds could prevent pain and help arthritis but marketers may claim their products can offer positional relief from pain, including arthritic pain. Marketers should not imply that relief or comfort is any more than temporary or that the product treats the condition.
In July 2005, the ASA ruled against a leaflet advertising a range of physiotherapy products that included chairs and beds, which, the advertiser claimed, were “ideal for sufferers from Arthritis, High Blood Pressure and Back Pain … You can actually feel the aches and pains easing by the moment …”. The ASA took advice from an expert, who believed the advertiser’s evidence fell short of demonstrating the efficacy of the products (Niagara Therapy (UK) Ltd, 20 July 2005).
Some beds and chairs vibrate or offer heated massage. Claims that those type of products can relieve minor conditions (for example aches and pains or localised circulation problems) might be acceptable if supported by robust evidence but claiming vibrations or heat can treat serious medical conditions is not acceptable (Rules 3.7, 12.1 and the CAP Help Note on Substantiation for Health, Beauty and Slimming Claims). Advertisers should ensure that they distinguish between the benefits of the vibrating or massaging action of their product and those that can be attributed to the positional action of their bed or chair. CAP understands that some evidence suggests benefits for local vibration treatment on direct cutaneous stimulation for pain experimentally induced in a specific part of the body, especially in healthy subjects. Neither the ASA nor CAP have yet accepted that the treatment provided by vibrating or heated products can benefit sufferers of conditions such as arthritis.
Last modified : 29 December 2011