The ASA has published a new Enforcement Notice with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) about the advertising of Kenalog injections on social media. Kenalog is a prescription-only medicine that must not be directly or indirectly advertised to the public.

Kenalog is a brand name for triamcinolone acetonide. It is a steroid injection currently offered by various beauty and aesthetics clinics as a treatment for hay fever and advertised widely on clinic websites and social media. It is not licensed in the UK for the treatment of hay fever.

The Enforcement Notice follows the publication of ASA rulings against several beauty and aesthetics clinics for the advertising of Kenalog injections for the treatment of hay fever.

The Enforcement Notice makes clear that when promoting services for the treatment of hay fever on social media, advertisers must remove direct references to Kenalog in the text of a post, as well as in images and hashtags. Indirect references such as “hay fever injection” and “hay fever jab” will be considered by the ASA to have the same effect as promoting Kenalog and should be avoided. This applies to the use of emojis (i.e., syringe emojis), company or social media account names, testimonials and memes.

Similarly, the ASA says that when promoting consultations for the treatment of hay fever, care should be taken to ensure that Kenalog is neither directly nor indirectly advertised.

From Monday 29 August 2022, the Compliance team will take targeted enforcement action using monitoring technology to remove non-compliant ads and help ensure a level playing field. The ASA urges all advertisers in this market to review the Enforcement Notice and take immediate steps to check their advertising and make any changes needed. To access the Enforcement Notice, click here.