United Kingdom

[GB] Revision of rule for vitamin and mineral commercials

IRIS 1996-3:1/20

Marcel Dellebeke

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

The Independent Television Commission issued on 20 February 1996 a revision of its rule relating to the advertising of dietary supplements. The rule, which takes immediate effect, allows a broader range of people who may benefit from vitamin and mineral supplements to be identified within commercials. The previous version of the rule allowed only restrained advertisements for vitamins and minerals related to the dietary requirements of growing children, pregnant or lactating woman and elderly people. The Department of Health now recognises that a much wider range of specific groups of people may benefit from vitamin and mineral supplementation. After consulting its Advertising Advisory Committee, Medical Advisory Panel and a wide range of health and consumer organisations, the ITC revised the relevant code rule to reflect current Government advice.

Advertisements may now state that groups of people such as the following may benefit from supplements: those on restricted dietary regimes or those eating unsupplemented, low food-energy diets; women of child-bearing age; growing children; and some individuals over the age of 50. Claims in this category must have sound scientific evidence to support them and must clearly identify within the commercial which groups of people are likely to benefit from a particular supplement.