Healthcare firms cut down to size over testosterone ads

Two digital healthcare companies have been given a stiff rebuke by the ad watchdog for making misleading, unsubstantiated claims regarding male testosterone levels after being fingered by the regulator’s AI-powered monitoring tool.

The rulings against paid-for Facebook ads from two separate healthcare brands – Numan and BioID Health – follow rising concerns among medical professionals about social media misinformation driving men to seek unneeded testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for general symptoms like tiredness or low motivation.

The two Numan ads two claimed “40% of men with obesity have low testosterone” and “95% of men with low testosterone are undiagnosed”.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled the health claims were misleading because the data was incorrectly extracted from surveys detailing men with symptoms of low testosterone, rather than those with clinically confirmed deficiencies. Numan-owner Vir Health acknowledged the error and agreed to review its internal evaluation processes.

Meanwhile, BioIdentical Hormone Therapy, which owns BioID Health, has had two ads banned. The activity, fronted by Dr Martin Kinsella (pictured) has been battered for implying that the firm’s private hormone health consultations offered more thorough and effective diagnostic testing than standard NHS GPs.

The watchdog deemed these claims misleading, unsubstantiated, and irresponsible for undermining public healthcare providers.

The ASA has ordered both firms not to run the ads again in their current form and warned against making broad statistical claims about population health without rigorous clinical evidence.

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