Health and wellness marketing has never been more crowded – and the line between permissible “health” messaging and regulated therapeutic claims has increasingly blurred.
The refreshed Therapeutic and Health Advertising Code (Therapeutic Code) sharpens the expectations on advertisers and marketers, placing greater caution around the use of endorsements, the treatment of vulnerable audiences, and placing greater responsibility on advertisers for user‑generated material on their own platforms.
Strategically, the Therapeutic Code remains a key tool for managing advertising risk, making it especially relevant when developing innovative or borderline health messaging, whether directly or implied.
Managing “grey-zone” products and services
There is a spectrum that runs from general “health” claims through to therapeutic claims, and advertisers operate along that spectrum every day.
These types of health‑related statements are already regulated by an interlocking framework of legislation and regulation.
Therapeutic products in New Zealand are primarily regulated under the Medicines Act 1981, administered by Medsafe. This was meant to be replaced by the Therapeutic Products Act 2023, which was designed as a modern, unified, risk‑proportionate framework covering all therapeutic products, however it was repealed in December 2024 before it commenced.
While the Government has signalled stand‑alone legislation for natural health products is in the pipeline, a Bill hasn’t been introduced as yet, leaving this still a relatively grey area.
Alongside this sits the Food Act 2014 and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which draws hard legal boundaries so that “food” cannot lawfully be marketed as having a therapeutic purpose.
Then there is the Fair Trading Act 1986, acting as an umbrella for any “misleading or deceptive” claims and the voluntary advertising rules administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
However, there is still a relatively grey territory for products that are not clearly medicines or food and sit near cosmetics or wellness products – and services which don’t neatly fit within the above.
What is a therapeutic claim?
At its core, a therapeutic claim is a representation that a product, service or treatment has a therapeutic purpose, such as any claim or implication that a product or service can:
- prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate a disease, ailment, defect or injury
- influence, inhibit or modify a physiological process
- relieve symptoms
- restore, correct or modify a body function or structure
- have a direct effect on health conditions beyond general maintenance of health.
Importantly, a therapeutic claim does not need to be explicit. Imagery, testimonials, context and implied outcomes can all result in an advertisement being treated as making a therapeutic claim. Once that threshold is crossed, significantly higher compliance expectations apply.
When does the new Code apply?
The refreshed Therapeutic Code is being introduced in stages:
- From 1 April 2026 – it applies to all new therapeutic and health advertising
- From 1 July 2026 – it applies to all advertising, regardless of when it was first published.
This provides advertisers with a limited but valuable opportunity to audit existing materials, update creative assets and ensure internal sign‑off processes align with the new requirements.
What does the Therapeutic Code cover?
The Therapeutic Code has broad reach, applying to all words and visual depictions used in advertising for:
- therapeutic products (including medicines and medical devices, post being approved by Medsafe)
- natural health products and dietary supplements
- health services
- methods of treatment.
Advertising across these categories must meet high standards of social responsibility. While the Therapeutic Code itself is voluntary, it sits alongside – and often informs compliance with –statutory regimes with more serious consequences. As a practical matter, the ASA Codes continue to provide a useful framework for navigating this complex area.
The updated Code provides clearer guidance in several historically high‑risk areas.
Endorsements: clearer prohibitions
Advertisements must not claim or imply endorsement of a product, device or service by:
- healthcare professionals or health service providers
- government agencies
- professional bodies
- independent or regulatory agencies.
Even subtle suggestions of approval or recommendation – through language, imagery or branding – may breach the Code.
Safeguards for vulnerable audiences
The Code expands the concept of vulnerability beyond age alone. It now expressly includes circumstances such as:
- physical or mental health challenges
- emotional distress
- reduced health literacy
- financial hardship.
Advertisers are expected to take additional care not to exploit fear, urgency or unrealistic expectations where audiences may be particularly susceptible.
User‑generated content remains high risk
User‑generated content continues to be a compliance pressure point. Where user testimonials, reviews or comments are incorporated into advertising, responsibility rests primarily with the advertiser, including for content shared by influencers or creators.
Existing law already prohibits testimonials referring to personal use or implying therapeutic benefit in advertising for health products, medical devices and health services. The refreshed Code reinforces that responsibility cannot be shifted to platforms or users.
Key takeaway
The refreshed Therapeutic and Health Advertising Code does not overhaul the existing framework – but it sharpens the boundaries between acceptable health messaging and regulated therapeutic claims.
Advertisers and marketers should be reviewing campaigns now to ensure that claims, imagery, endorsements and third‑party content stay on the right side of that line.
