The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ruled that British company Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of Nurofen, should receive a $6m fine for misleading consumers over its “targeted” painkillers. The painkillers contained the same ingredients as the standard range but cost considerably more. In 2010 the consumer group Choice gave Nurofen’s pain-specific range a Shonky award, saying “the shonkiest aspect of this type of marketing is that the fast-acting painkillers labelled for specific pain types are more expensive – costing almost twice as much in some stores we surveyed – than their ‘all-pain’ fast-acting equivalent, Zavance caplets, which contains a comparable fast-acting form of ibuprofen.” In an unprecedented move, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he was satisfied with the findings by his own regulator in Australia. Reckitt Benckiser argued that “rational” customers would not believe the targeted products were more effective, but might choose them for “ease of selection”. A judge is expected to rule on the fine later this month. Meanwhile, the products have been withdrawn from sale and Nurofen’s general painkillers carry a disclaimer.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ruled that British company Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of Nurofen, should receive a $6m fine for misleading consumers over its “targeted” painkillers. The painkillers contained the same ingredients as the standard range but cost considerably more. In an unprecedented move, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he was satisfied with the findings by his own regulator in Australia. Reckitt Benckiser argued that “rational” customers would not believe the targeted products were more effective, but might choose them for “ease of selection”. A judge is expected to rule on the fine later this month. Meanwhile, the products have been withdrawn from sale and Nurofen’s general painkillers carry a disclaimer.