The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued four infringement notices totalling A$10,656 to a West Australian man for alleged unlawful advertising of CBD.
The man allegedly used websites and social media to advertise various oils containing CBD that were prescription-only medicines, in breach of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.
The products were not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) at the time of advertising.
The Act prohibits consumer advertising of substances included in Schedule 4 (prescription-only medicine) or Schedule 8 (controlled drug) of the Poisons Standard and of therapeutic goods that are not entered in the ARTG, unless a specific exemption, approval or authority applies (which it did not in this case).
The TGA alleged the man referred to prohibited representations in promoting the CBD oils on social media as a treatment for cancer and a cure for brain tumours.
The Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code specifies that representations relating to the treatment, cure, prevention or diagnosis (including screening) of neoplastic diseases, including all types of cancer, are prohibited representations.
The man allegedly also promoted the CBD oils as a preventative for COVID-19 and a treatment for Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, which are deemed restricted representations.
Under the Act, the use of prohibited or restricted representations in ads for therapeutic goods is unlawful without prior approval from the TGA, which the advertiser did not have.
The man has been told to remove the ads immediately.
