Misleading Ads: Sensodyne & Naaptol Online Shopping Rapped By Consumer Protection Regulator
New Delhi, Feb 11: In a bid to crack down on false or misleading advertising in India, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has asked GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare Ltd, the manufacturers of Sensodyne products, and Naaptol Online Shopping Ltd to discontinue the advertisements as they flout norms.
The CCPA also slapped a fine of Rs. 10 lakh on Naaptol for unfair trade practices.
The CCPA passed the order against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare Ltd on January 27, taking a suo motu cognisance of the matter.
The authority asked GSK to discontinue all advertisements for Sensodyne products in the country within seven days of the issuance of the order, saying the ads flouted norms as they showed dentists practising outside India endorsing the products.
Stating that the regulations governing dentists in India clearly bar endorsement of any product or drug publicly, the CCPA said GSK Consumer Healthcare “cannot be allowed to circumvent the law in force in India and show foreign dentists to exploit consumer apprehension towards tooth sensitivity”.
“Therefore, advertisement of Sensodyne products in India which show endorsements by dentists practising outside India qualify as ‘misleading advertisement’ in terms of Section 2 (28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,” the order said.
The CCPA also directed Director General (Investigation) to submit a report within 15 days on various claims — “recommended by dentists worldwide”, “world’s no.1 sensitivity toothpaste”, “clinically proven relief, works in 60 seconds” etc — and the documents submitted by the company in support of these claims.
“We confirm the receipt of the order from the CCPA. While we are looking into it in detail, we would like to clarify that our marketing initiatives are compliant with the applicable laws and industry guidelines. We are a responsible and compliant company which is committed to the welfare of its consumers,” GSK Consumer Healthcare spokesperson said in a statement.
CCPA also passed an order against Naaptol Online Shopping Ltd for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices and asked it to pay a penalty of Rs 10 lakh.
The consumer protection regulator passed the order against Naaptol on February 2 this year, the consumer affairs ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Taking up another suo motu case, the CCPA passed an order against Naaptol Online Shopping Ltd asking the company to discontinue misleading advertisements of “Set of 2 Gold Jewelry”, “Magnetic Knee Support” and “Acupressure Yoga Slippers”.
The CCPA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Naaptol stating its misleading advertisements have had a far-reaching impact on numerous consumers as the company runs a 24X7 channel and is broadcasted on a daily basis across the country in various languages.
Asking to immediately discontinue, the CCA pointing at its practices which create “artificial scarcity” of products, including the product shown available only today if it is going to be on sale within the next 30 days as well.
It noted that the company has to clearly display on its channel or platform running a promotion that it is a pre-recorded episode.
The CCPA has also directed Naaptol to redress the complaints filed between May 2021 and January 2022 and submit a report within 15 days.
The National Consumer Helpline data indicates that 399 complaints were registered against Naaptol from June 2021 to January 25 this year, it added.
