NHS sexual health advert complaints rejected

A sexual health advert by the NHS claiming that up to one in ten sexually-active under-25s has chlamydia has been cleared of being misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today.

The ASA decided not to uphold a complaint which challenged the advert’s claim after the facts proved to be true.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Chlamydia Screening Office (NTWCSO), who produced the campaign, pointed to evidence in the government’s 2005 White Paper on Public Health to back up the statistic.

Clearcast, the company responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of television advertisements, said a consultant had checked the claim and was satisfied with the accuracy of the statement.

The advertising regulator acknowledged that, although in the majority of areas in the country less than one per cent of under-25s were screened, the ad stated “up to” one in ten, which implied the rate might be less than that figure in some locations.

ASA also investigated whether or not the claim could have been interpreted as only applying to young people in the Tyne Tees and Yorkshire regions, where it was broadcast, rather than across the UK.

However, the regulator again dismissed accusations that this statement was misleading.