Consumer protection regulator orders closure of Sensodyne ads in India

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has passed an order against Naaptol Online Shopping Limited for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practice, and asked it to pay the penalty. 10 lakhs.

The CCPA took suo motu cognizance of the matter and passed an order on 27 January against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare and on 2 February this year against Naaptol, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

As per the order, the CCPA has directed GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare to discontinue all advertisements of Sensodyne in the country within seven days of the issue of the order as the advertisements depicted dentists outside India endorsing the products Is.

Noting that the regulations governing dentists in India forbid the endorsement of any product or drug in public, the CCPA stated that GSK Consumer Healthcare is required to “bypass the law in force in India and to protect the sensitivity of teeth”. Foreign dentists cannot be allowed to show up to take advantage of consumer apprehension.”

The order said, “Therefore, advertisement of Sensodyne products in India, which shows endorsement by dentists practicing outside India, shall be treated as ‘misleading advertisement’ in terms of section 2 (28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. I am eligible.”

The CCPA named the Director General (Investigation) “recommended by dentists worldwide”, “the world’s No. 1 sensitivity toothpaste” and “clinically proven relief, works in 60 seconds” and 15 days after examining the documents. directed to submit a report within Submitted by the company in support of these claims.

“We confirm receipt of the order from CCPA. While we are looking into this in detail, we would like to clarify that our marketing initiatives are in line with applicable laws and industry guidelines. We are a responsible and compliant company that is committed to our for the welfare of consumers,” a spokesperson for GSK Consumer Healthcare said in a statement.

Taking another suo moto cognizance, the CCPA passed an order against Naaptol Online Shopping Ltd. asking the company to stop misleading advertisements of “two gold jewelery sets”, “magnetic knee support” and “acupressure yoga slippers”. was asked for.

CCPA has also imposed a fine 10 lakh on Naaptol, stating that its misleading advertisements have had far-reaching effects on many consumers as the company runs 24X7 channels and is broadcast on a daily basis across the country in different languages.

The order said that Naaptol was directed to clearly mention in the episode offering products for sale to consumers that this is a recorded episode and does not show the live status of the production inventory.

It directed Naaptol to immediately cease any practices that create “artificial shortages” of products, including showing that the product is only available today if it is also going to be on sale within the next 30 days.

The company has been asked to clearly display on its channel or platform running the promotion that it is a pre-recorded episode.

The CCPA has also directed Naaptol to redress the complaints lodged between May 2021 and January 2022 and submit a report within 15 days.

It said data from the National Consumer Helpline indicated that 399 complaints were filed against Naaptol from June 2021 to January 25 this year.