Committee publication · Correspondence · 17 December 2025
Correspondence from the Advertising Standards Authority- Tackling misleading health information in advertising
From: Health and Social Care Committee
Inquiry: Food and Weight Management
Summary
The Advertising Standards Authority writes to the Health and Social Care Committee detailing enforcement action against misleading health advertising. The ASA upheld rulings against four supplement brands (Nutrisslim, Nutreance, Muxue Trade, Impact Herbs) for illegally making medicinal claims, and two home-testing kit companies (Self Check, Lifelab Testing) for misrepresenting PSA test capabilities regarding prostate cancer diagnosis. Action was identified using AI-powered monitoring of online health ads.
Key findings
- Four supplement brands banned for claiming their products could treat medical conditions including enlarged prostate and urinary flow problems; only authorised medicines may make medicinal claims
- Two prostate home-testing kit companies banned for claiming PSA tests could diagnose or rule out prostate cancer without clarifying test limitations
- ASA's Active Ad Monitoring System using artificial intelligence identified priority areas for enforcement action in misleading health advertising
- Misleading health claims can provide false reassurance and delay people seeking appropriate medical advice from doctors
- ASA working with social media platforms, other regulators, and advertisers to ensure compliance with advertising standards
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Layla Moran MP, Grace Curley, Nutrisslim, Nutreance, Muxue Trade, Impact Herbs, Self Check
Notable line
“… misleading claims can give false reassurance or make it harder for people to know when to speak to a doctor”
Key Quotes
“Only ads for authorised medicines are permitted to make medicinal claims. Because food products, including supplements, are not authorised to do so, we banned these ads.”
“A PSA test alone cannot do either and in both cases, the ads failed to make clear that these tests had limitations.”
“… misleading claims can give false reassurance or make it harder for people to know when to speak to a doctor, which is why it's so important that information about prostate health is accurate and responsible.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗