Your supplement page counts as an ad.

The TGA's own words

Listed medicines are not evaluated.

The TGA checks medicines, and that line opens its guide. Most supplements are listed medicines. The maker says it has the evidence. Nobody at the TGA reads it before sale.

Read the label number

AUST L does not mean the TGA approved it.

AUST L means listed, with no check that it works. AUST L(A) means its claims were assessed. AUST R means it was evaluated on its own.

Where the words come from

Your claims must come from a fixed list.

The TGA says claims must be 'drawn exclusively from a list of pre-approved permitted indications'. It works like a menu. If your claim is missing, wording will not help.

Banned outright

You cannot say it provides 100% of your daily intake.

You cannot show a vitamin or mineral as a percentage of daily intake. Nor can you quote an old intake figure, or one not from the NHMRC.

Two more bans

You cannot say a vitamin beats food.

You cannot sell a vitamin as a swap for good food or a balanced diet, or as better than food. Even believing it is true is no defence.

A test you can use yourself

A serious condition is one that needs a health professional.

To name one, you need the TGA's approval first. The list has 2 exceptions: vitamin D with calcium for osteoporosis, and folic acid for neural tube defects.

No way to apply

Some claims have no approval path at all.

They cover cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS, hepatitis C, mental illness and abortion. You cannot apply to use them. The TGA may grant one for a single ad.

What to do

The claim is fixed, so sell with the rest of your page.

If you are registered, both the TGA rules and the health ad rules apply to you. Passing one tells you nothing about the other. Selling happens elsewhere on the page.

Tap below for 5 checks worth running this week.