A FACEBOOK AD which claimed homeopathy had alleviated the symptoms of autism has been banned.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) made the ruling against Almond Homeopathy this week.
The complaint from the public related to a Facebook post by the company which said:
“More and more children are being diagnosed on the Autism spectrum every day. Some predictions indicate that by 2032 as many as 50% of children will be on the ASD spectrum.
I have the pleasure of meeting and working with many children diagnosed with ASD and the greater pleasure and joy of helping them overcome many of their symptoms that were holding them and their families back from getting the most out of life.
Christian is one of those children, to find out more about him and how his learning, relationships and speech improved have a read of my new blog.
The headline of the blog was also featured, stating:
“Big Autism Improvement! Almond Homeopathy:
“Christian came to see me when he was 4 ½. He had been diagnosed with ASD. His speech was delayed….”
A link to the blog article was contained within the post.
A complaint was made about the ad, with a member of the public saying that the blog linked to from the post contained a case history of a patient but there was no mention of the advertiser being authorised to do so. The complainant considered that the advertiser was not professionally qualified to treat such a condition.
The owner of Almond Homeopathy responded that she was a qualified homeopath and was registered with the Irish Society of Homeopaths.
She said she did not diagnose the condition, nor did she claim she was qualified to do so. She said that people come to her with a set of symptoms and she uses the symptoms to determine what remedy may help them best.
In regards to the cases on her blog, she said that she has permission for every one she shares and that she changes the name for each case. Finally she said that when advertising on Facebook she sets the target audience to over 18’s and she does not advertise to young people.
The ASAI’s complaints committee found that there was no statutory regulation of complementary therapists. They said that the wording of her post and the heading of the blog post would give readers the impression that she could treat the symptoms of autism.
They found it breached three parts of the advertising code and ruled it must not appear again.
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