The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a claim against a provider of hyperbaric oxygen therapy after its website made misleading claims about the treatment.
At the time of the claim, the homepage stated, ‘Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a medically known, safe, non-invasive & painless way to promote healing and recovery for users of all ages by saturating the body’s cells with pure oxygen through the use of a pressurised hyperbaric chamber.’ It went on the say, ‘HBOT has been clinically shown to […] helping [sic] with depression, anxiety, stress […] Oxygen promotes general health and wellness, […] helps with pain relief, stress […].’
A separate page listed text featuring the following conditions: ‘Surgery;’ ‘Injury;’ ‘Heart;’ ‘Migraine;’ ‘Asthma;’ ‘Chronic Pain;’ ‘Stress;’ ‘Chronic Conditions’ and ‘Depression.’ Further on-screen text said, ‘Pills don’t always work adding more medication… can lead to added complications’, and ‘STOP! There is an alternative for all ages Talk to your GP Find out if HBOT is right for you.’
The claimant expressed concern that the promotion discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
The company stated that its intent had not been to angle their treatment as a replacement for essential medical treatment, but rather to inform consumers of the potential benefits that it could deliver in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.
The company provided links to 74 papers delivered by a biomedical publication database under the search query ‘hyperbaric oxygen therapy,’ but did not provide any detail as to their relevance. They noted that some of the treatment claims stated that their therapy ‘helped’ the conditions listed, which they believed made clear that their therapy could support, but not replace, medical treatment.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the company removed many of the treatment claims on their website, but some remained.
Ultimately, the ASA upheld complaints made against the company, concluding that marketers must not offer specific advice on, diagnosis or treatment for such conditions unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional.
The company has been told that the promotion cannot appear in the current form, and that it cannot discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought in future.
