Ever wondered about how Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache know how to find their specific pains and treat them? Thought that Nurofen must have developed some sort of next gen targeting ingredient?
Nope. It hasn’t. All the products in the range contain the same active ingredient and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has pulled them up on it.
The ACCC is seeking “declarations, injunctions, an order for the publication of corrective notices, penalties and costs” from UK parent pharmaceutical company, Reckitt Benckiser. This means that Reckitt Benckiser is facing a fine of up to $1.1 million per breach if the Federal Court accepts the ACCC's allegations.
Formally, “The ACCC alleges that Reckitt Benckiser made representations on the packaging of each Nurofen Specific Pain Product, and on its website that each product:
- was designed and formulated to treat a particular type of pain
- had specific efficacy in treating a particular type of pain
- solely treated a particular type of pain.
The ACCC alleges that these representations were false or misleading because the caplets in all four Nurofen Specific Pain Products are identical and each contain the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg. All four products are also approved on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods as being suitable for treating a wide variety of pain types.”
ACCC chairman, Rod Sims, stated, “The ACCC takes false or misleading claims about the efficacy of health and medical products very seriously. Indeed, truth in advertising and consumer issues in the health and medical sectors are ACCC enforcement priorities in 2015. In this case, we allege that consumers have been misled into purchasing Nurofen Specific Pain Products under the belief that each product is specifically designed for and effective in treating a particular type of pain, when this is not the case.”
“The retail price of the Nurofen Specific Pain Products is significantly above that of other comparable analgesic products that also act as general pain relievers. Recent price sampling conducted by the ACCC revealed that these products are being sold at retail prices around double that of Nurofen’s standard ibuprofen products and standard products of its competitors.”
Nurofen issued a statement in response to the allegations that:
- "Nurofen disputes any allegation of contravention of consumer law in relation to its pain-specific packaging.
- "All Nurofen packs are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and comply with the TGA's regulatory guidelines.
- "Nurofen pain-specific products provide easier navigation of pain relief options in the grocery environment for consumers who are experiencing a particular type of pain."
The company said it would keep working with regulators to “ensure its packaging continues to be fully aligned with all guidelines and requirements.”
The recommended retail price for 24 tablet packets of the specific pain Nurofen products is $12.99 compared to $5.99 for an equivalent package of the conventional Nurofen.
Nurofen's website previously contained information indicating the different products should be used for specific purposes, but that has since been amended. It now reads, "Any of the four products shown on this page have the same ingredient and can be taken to provide effective temporary relief of pain and/or inflammation associated with either migraine, tension headache, back pain or period pain."
The matter is listed for a case management conference on 31 March 2015 in the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney. The ACCC recently released its Compliance and Enforcement Policy which identified truth in advertising and consumer issues in the health and medical sectors as key areas of priority for 2015.
Reckitt Benckiser also markets and supplies Mortein, Clearasil, Finish, Airwick and Gaviscon in Australia.
