I have been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) following a Complaint lodged by one of our Members.
The Member, (now unsubscribed), was upset by my phrase “best wishes for your journey towards recovery” as she felt that I was assuming that she was in recovery but, in fact, felt she was not “recovering or anywhere near it.” This led her to lodge the Complaint which brought me to the attention of the ASA and CAP.
It seems I have been infringing the UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotions and Direct Marketing, notably the Rule which states that “Mentioning any medical condition in relation to a product, is likely to imply that the product can treat that condition”.
All Food Supplement claims re health and nutrition are strictly regulated by very specific EU Regulations and the field is a quagmire!
The EU Regulations, at present, regarding Fish Oils is particularly negative: “because on the basis of the scientific evidence assessed, claimed effect for this food supplement has not been substantiated.”
Despite vehemently fighting our corner, I’ve had to comply by removing all references to ME from my website other than mentioning that the purchasing of Vegepa, via The Private Vegepa Club, aka The Vegepa for ME Scheme, contributes towards crucial fund raising for Biomedical Research into ME.
The ASA and CAP have now come to an Informal Resolution and I have amended copy on my website accordingly.
Because of this, you may find that references to the supplement and the medical condition are missing in places where you might, logically, expect to find them!
Because of this, I managed to secure permission to sell Vegepa to anyone and I am no longer restricted to any one particular condition, which may, ironically, increase our donations to ME Research as, hopefully, our numbers will swell!
