Health related trades: the advertising rules that catch people out

Who is actually covered

Wider than most people assume. The act applies to advertising for medicines, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, and beyond that to other means, procedures, treatments and objects where the advertising claims relate to recognising, removing or alleviating illness, suffering or bodily injury.

It also reaches cosmetic procedures without medical necessity. And cosmetics come into scope where the advertising makes health related claims rather than purely cosmetic ones, which is a line drawn by what you write rather than by what you sell.

So a studio that describes a treatment as relaxing is in one world, and the same studio describing it as relieving a complaint has stepped into another. The product did not change, the sentence did.

That is worth knowing before writing a single page, because the cheapest compliance decision is choosing the claims you do not make.

The prohibitions that catch people out

Before and after pictures. Comparative depictions of the body before and after a cosmetic procedure are prohibited. This is the single most common violation in the trade, because such pictures are also the most persuasive material anybody has.

Prominent endorsements. Advertising that relies on recommendations from scientists, healthcare professionals or other persons whose prominence could encourage use is restricted, and so are third party statements such as thank you letters presented in a misleading way.

Fear. Statements suggesting that health could be harmed by not using something, or improved by using it, are prohibited. That is the sentence structure most marketing templates reach for first.

There are further items, including a prohibition on advertising directed exclusively or predominantly at children under 14, and on publications where the advertising purpose is not plainly recognisable, which overlaps with the general duty to make a commercial purpose recognisable.

Count what remains available. The act names 3 product classes directly, medicines, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, and extends from there. The prohibitions run to more than 10 numbered items, of which 3 catch ordinary marketing material: before and after pictures, prominent endorsements and fear based claims. Against that, the material you may use is unlimited and unglamorous: procedure, duration, preparation, aftercare. And it still works, because 68 percent of consumers choose on a rating of four stars or better and 74 percent on reviews from the last three months, neither of which requires a single prohibited claim.

What to do instead

Describe the procedure, the duration, the preparation and the aftercare. Those are facts, they answer what the customer actually wants to know, and none of them are on the prohibited list.

Then take legal advice for the specific claims you want to make. This article names the structure of the rules, not the answer for your treatment, and the distinction between a cosmetic and a health related claim is exactly where a professional earns their fee.

Count the compliance work while you are at it: 3 prohibitions to avoid, 4 facts to publish, 1 annual review of the pages. That is under 2 hours a year for a studio, and it is the entire difference between a page that stands and a page that invites a letter.

Questions and answers

Sources

1. Section 11 Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG) The list of prohibited forms of advertising outside professional circles
2. Section 1 Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG) The scope, including cosmetic procedures without medical necessity