Watchdog censures herbalists after they used TikTok influencers who claimed that one of its creams could treat menopause symptoms
A historic Scottish herbal remedy company has been rapped by advertising watchdogs over TikTok videos claiming one of its products could treat menopause symptoms.
Napiers The Herbalists, which has been trading for more than 160 years in Edinburgh, used influencers on the social media platform to plug its Wild Yam skin cream to their followers.
The TikTok creators, who were each paid commission for their endorsement, spoke about how the cream helped alleviate symptoms of the menopause.
They also suggested that the product could be used as a 'natural' alternative to hormone replacement therapy.
The five ads have now been banned following an investigation into them by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The watchdog ruled that no medicinal claims could be made about the cream because as it was not licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
A Scottish herbal remedy company has been rapped by advertising watchdogs over TikTok videos claiming one of its products could treat menopause symptoms
Wild yam skin cream (pictured) which has been produced by Napiers The Herbalists
In one of the videos, TikTok influencer Kate Ring said the cream was 'far far better than any pharmaceutical drugs you could take to balance hormones'.
In another video, fitness and 'wellness' enthusiast Yiolanda Koppel said that she was having 'no night sweats, no fatigue, no brain fog, no body aches, no anxiety, no rage' since she started using the product.
In its ruling, the ASA said: 'The ASA considered that consumers were likely to understand the claims to mean that Napiers' Wild Yam Cream could treat the symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause. As such, the product was required to be licensed as a medicine in order to allow such claims. However, we understood that the product did not have the relevant marketing authorisation from the MHRA and because of that no medicinal claims could be made for the product.
'Because the ads made medicinal claims for a product which was not licensed, we concluded that they breached the Code.
'The ads must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Napiers The Herbalists to ensure that future ads did not make medicinal claims for unlicensed products.'
Napiers said its cream was not intended to cure or treat any disease and therefore no licensing was required under authorisation from the MHRA. It argued that it was not accurate to classify the perimenopause as a medical condition and said it was not treated that way by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Napiers The Herbalists used influencers on the social media platform to plug its Wild Yam skin cream to their followers
The company believed it was fair for TikTok creators to utilise their own personal experience of using the cream to treat their symptoms, giving women a platform to talk openly, and were concerned that restricting such language would have an adverse effect. Nevertheless, it said that all the ads had been removed and that it would ensure that content relating to the brand and all of their products was compliant in future.
Napiers was established in 1860 by Duncan Napier, a Victorian botanist who collected herbs and plants from Edinburgh and the surrounding regions. As well as its historic Edinburgh base, the firm also has clinics in Glasgow and Bathgate, West Lothian.
Napiers has been approached for comment.
