A quick warning/reminder – the authorities have recently taken action against a number of suppliers of products such as hand gels and skin wipes because of the content of their advertising, particularly on websites. This is typically because the content of the adverts makes reference to being ‘effective against Coronavirus’. This affects both retailers and wholesalers, so B2C and B2B advertising.
The Human Medicines Regulations define a medicine, amongst other things, as “Any substance or combination of substances presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings……” and as a consequence, unless licensed as medicines, hand sanitisers are not permitted to make any references to specifically named diseases or pathogens.
Part of the issue is that the manufacturers of a number of these products produce detailed ‘fact sheets’ on their product’s effectiveness, and typically the suppliers have simply replicated some of this content in their advertising. It is a tricky issue because the first question your customers will be asking is whether the product is effective against Coronavirus, but the simple answer is you cannot make such a claim in adverting unless it is licensed as a medicinal product.