Is a de-facto exclusion of advertising for over-the-counter pharmaceutical products on social media supported by the Swiss legal framework?
Werbung für rezeptfreie Medikamente (OTC-Produkte) ist in der Schweiz grundsätzlich erlaubt, doch auf Social- Media-Plattformen stossen Pharmaunternehmen auf erhebliche Hürden. Dies liegt insbesondere an der strikten Haltung von Swissmedic zu Werbung auf Plattformen wie Facebook und YouTube, welche die Pharmaunternehmen daran hindert, das Potenzial dieser Plattformen vollumfänglich auszuschöpfen. Dieser Beitrag zeigt das gegenwärtige Werberegime für OTC-Produkte auf und analysiert die Haltung von Swissmedic zu Werbung auf Social-Media-Plattformen. Er geht der Frage nach, ob das faktische Werbeverbot für OTC-Produkte auf Social Media mit der Wirtschaftsfreiheit vereinbar ist oder ob es weniger einschränkende Mittel gibt.
La publicité pour les médicaments en vente libre est en principe autorisée en Suisse, mais les entreprises pharmaceutiques se heurtent à des obstacles considérables sur les plateformes de réseaux sociaux. Cela est notamment dû à la position stricte de Swissmedic concernant la publicité sur des plateformes telles que Facebook et YouTube, qui empêche les entreprises pharmaceutiques d'exploiter pleinement le potentiel de ces plateformes. Cet article présente le régime publicitaire actuel pour les médicaments en vente libre et analyse la position de Swissmedic à l'égard de la publicité sur les réseaux sociaux. Il étudie la question de savoir si l'interdiction de fait de la publicité pour les médicaments OTC sur les réseaux sociaux est compatible avec la liberté économique ou s'il existe des moyens moins contraignants.
I. Introduction
II. Rules on Advertisement for Over-the-Counter Pharmaceutical Products – an Overview
III. Focus: Advertisement on Social Media
- Social Media
- Swissmedic's Position and its Consequences on Social Media Advertisement
- Comments vs. Like/Share
- Fundamental Rights Unduly Restricted?
- Some Additional Thoughts
I. Introduction
Online advertising campaigns in Switzerland are becoming increasingly important. In 2021, 9% of spending in Switzerland was invested in social media advertising, defined as a sub-category of online advertising.1 The same study found that advertisers with smaller budgets spent more on advertising on social media as a format than the average.2 Also the Federal Administration highlights in its SME Portal the importance of social media advertising for companies in Switzerland, and points out that an important indicator for a company's success are the numbers of comments and users' feedback, rather than the mere number of followers.3
Swissmedic's current position, however, does not allow pharmaceutical companies to leverage the power of such social media advertising as it has prohibited the advertising of pharmaceutical products on community tools, such as Facebook and YouTube.4 After outlining the current regime for advertisement of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, this article will analyze social media advertising in light of Swissmedic's restrictive standpoint and contrast it with considerations based on fundamental rights.
- Rules on Advertisement for Over-the-Counter Pharmaceutical Products – an Overview
The legal framework for the advertisement of pharmaceutical products in Switzerland is set by Arts. 31 and 32 Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) as well as the related Ordinance on the Advertising of Medicinal Products (MPAO5). While advertising directed at the public for prescription-only medicinal products (commonly abbreviated as POMs) is prohibited (Art. 32 para. 2 TPA), the law sets limitations for, but does not prohibit, the advertisement to the public of over-the-counter medicinal products (so-called OTC products). To the contrary, Art. 31 para. 1 lit. b TPA explicitly allows such advertisement to the public for OTC products.
Limitations to advertising are possible for reasons of health protection, in particular to protect from improper product use, as well as protection against fraud.6 In light of this legal framework, we need to first establish its scope by looking at the concepts of (i) advertisement, specifically advertising for medicinal products, (ii) OTC products, as well as (iii) the term advertisement to the public, before diving deeper into the topic of social media advertising.
While the plain term advertisement is not defined in Swiss law,7 Art. 2 lit. a MPAO defines medicinal products advertising as all measures to provide information, market development and the creation of incentives aimed at promoting the prescription, dispensing, sale, consumption, or use of medicinal products. It is noteworthy that while information, market development, and the creation of incentives are not legally defined activities, the second part of the definition refers the interpreter back to activities with therapeutic products defined in the TPA.8 Jurisprudence seems to apply a broad understanding of medicinal products advertising, stating i.e. that aiming to change the advertising addressee's consumption behaviour is in itself sufficient to trigger the scope of application of advertising law.9
Medicinal products are classified in different categories, namely categories A, B, D, or E. In the course of the marketing authorization procedure, Swissmedic decides in which category a specific product should be classified, based on established classification criteria. While the medicinal products in categories A and B may only be dispensed based on a prescription, and thus qualify as POMs, medicinal products in categories D and E may be dispensed without a prescription and are thus generally referred to as OTC products.10 In 2023, about 2000 medicinal products where authorized as OTC products in Switzerland.11
The last important aspect is the targeted audience: the focus of the present article lies on advertising that is directed to the public, in contrast to advertisement directed to healthcare professionals.12
Various aspects of such advertisement to the public of OTC products are addressed in the third section of the MPAO, which exclusively deals with this topic. It includes general requirements related to transparency, the provision of samples, as well as unlawful forms of advertising and unlawful advertising statements. To add some flavor, the provisions for example prohibit obtrusive, vociferous advertising or advertising that would promise a medicinal product's guaranteed effect.13 Online advertisement is also addressed and qualifies as advertisement to the public per Art. 15 lit. c MPAO.14
III. Focus: Advertisement on Social Media
- Social Media
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations' Code of Practice (EFPIA Code), which addresses digital channels, considers social media as «websites or applications on which people can interact in social networks ». The examples enumerated by the EFPIA Code are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram.15 Other platforms commonly used in Switzerland are TikTok and Pinterest.16
- Swissmedic's Position and its Consequences on Social Media Advertisement
Since at least 2011, Swissmedic has held the position (and states so in its FAQs available online) that advertising of pharmaceutical products on community tools is prohibited. As examples for such community tools, Swissmedic explicitly mentions Facebook and YouTube, and as advertising measures both promotional films and banner advertising. The short explanation provided by Swissmedic for this position refers to the «Share» and «Like» functions on the relevant platforms and the related risks that patient interactions may lead to unlawful advertising statements as prohibited by Art. 22 MPAO.17 As of today, Swissmedic does not seem to have deviated from the position it took back then.18 Also the Code Secretariat of science industries, administering the relevant industry self-regulation as codified in the Pharma Code and the Pharma Cooperation Code, highlights this understanding of Swissmedic in the context of social media.19
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Thanks to Carola Winzeler, attorney at law in Zurich, for her valuable contributions to this article.
The English translation of the lead and summary is included on Swisslex and Legalis only.
Footnotes
1 B.VON RIMSCHA/R. RIEMANN, Der Online-Werbemarkt Schweiz, Studie für das Bundesamt für Kommunikation (BAKOM), in Kooperation mit dem Schweizer Werbe-Auftraggeberverband (SWA), 31 October 2021, 1, available at 9www.bakom.admin.ch/dam/bakom/de/doku mente/bakom/elektronische_medien/Zahlen%20und%20Fakten/Stu dien/online-werbemarkt-schweiz-bericht.pdf.download.pdf/Rim scha_Riemann_2021_Der%20Online-Werbemarkt%20Schweiz.pdf: (October 2024).
2 VON RIMSCHA/RIEMANN (Fn. 1), 8 et seq.
3 9www.kmu.admin.ch/kmu/de/home/praktisches-wissen/kmu-betrei ben/e-commerce/nutzung-der-website/online-werbung/soziale-netz werke.html:, October 2024.
4 Swissmedic FAQ question related to blogs and community tools in the category «Internetrichtlinie – Kontakte, Patientenfeedbacks, medizinische Beratung, Selbstest», available at 9www.swissmedic.ch/swiss medic/de/home/humanarzneimittel/marktueberwachung/arzneimit telwerbung/fragen-und-antworten/internetrichtlinie–kontakte–pa tientenfeedbacks–medizinische-b.html:, October 2024.
5 In German usually referred to as AWV.
6 Art. 31 para. 3 TPA; BGE 141 II 66 ff. E. 3.3.4 f.; U. EGGENBERGER STÖCKLI, Arzneimittel-Werbeverordnung, Bern 2006, AWV 2 N44; U. JAISLI/N. SCHUMACHER-BAUSCH, in: T. Eichenberger/U. Jaisli/P. Richli (Hg.), Basler Kommentar HMG, Basel 2022, Vor. Art. 31–32 HMG N17 ff.
7 See for a comprehensive overview of the term in the context of medicinal products for example EGGENBERGER STÖCKLI (Fn. 6), AWV 2 N8 ff.
8 See art. 4 para. 1 lit. f et seq. TPA. 9 BVGer vom 23. April 2024, C-2733/2021, E. 5.2.
10 See art. 23 and 23a TPA and art. 40 et seqq. Ordinance on Therapeutic Products.
11 Swissmedic Geschäftsbericht 2023, 36.
12 Art. 2 lit. b and c MPAO.
13 See art. 21 para. 1 lit. b and art. 22 lit. b MPAO.
14 D. DONAUER/S. MARKIEWICZ, Ein Überblick zur Arzneimittel-Werberegulierung, Jusletter 3. Mai 2021, margin No. 49.
15 EFPIA Code, version 2019, Annex 2, section 3, 59, available at 9www. efpia.eu/media/fg2n40ks/efpia-code-of-practice.pdf:, October 2024.
16 See statista, Führende Social-Media-Kanäle in der Schweiz nach Anzahl der aktiven Nutzer im Jahr 2024, available at 9de.statista.com/sta tistik/daten/studie/520144/um frage/nutzer-sozialer-netzwerke-inder- schweiz/:, October 2024.
17 Swissmedic FAQ (Fn. 4).
18 While this position was not explicitly (re-)confirmed when writing the present article, this piece's author previously received Swissmedic's confirmation that the above was still Swissmedic's position as regards social media more than ten years after it had last updated the FAQ reply in question. Given that the FAQ reply at hand remained unchanged since April 2011, as evidenced on wissmedic's website, there are no indications to suggest that Swissmedic's position may have changed in the meantime.
19 See Code Secretariat's «Recommendation for using digital channels: professional promotion, continuing education and social media», January 2021, 11 et seq., available at www.scienceindustries.ch/_file/27886/digitale-kanaele-2020-e.pdf:, October 2024.
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