ISLAMABAD – Reckitt Benckiser would file appeal against Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for passing order against Strepsils Comfort for alleged deceptive marketing, The CCP has recently passed an order against Strepsils Comfort for alleged deceptive marketing. The Reckitt Benckiser is now going to appeal. “The discussions with CCP are ongoing since December 2018, during which we have presented numerous third-party researches to substantiate our actions, specifically claims made on effectiveness of Strepsils Comfort. However, CCP failed to consider our strong evidence and therefore we are now left with no other option but to appeal,” Reckitt Benckiser said in a statement. It added that honesty and transparency are fundamental operating principles for RB, and we ensure that our product positioning and communication is fair, honest and does not mislead consumers or is unclear in any manner. “All objective claims used in our communication and in our packaging & promotional materials are backed by credible and documented evidence capable of withstanding scientific scrutiny and comply with all local consumer laws”.
The CCP few days back had passed an order imposing a total penalty of Rs150 million on Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited for violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010 for making advertising/marketing claims about its product ‘Strepsils’, which have been found capable of misleading and deceiving under the Act. According to the CCP, M/s Square Distribution & Marketing System (Pvt) Limited sent a formal complaint alleging that M/s Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited has been disseminating misleading information to the consumers by creating an impression of its product ‘Strepsils’ as a drug for sore throat and cough. It was further alleged that Strepsils was de-registered as drug when acquired by Reckitt from Boots in 2005, and then re-launched with the disclaimer, “Non-medicated Lozenges.” However, the company made no effort to educate and inform the consumers regarding the discontinuation of medicinal ingredient in it.
The CCP’s enquiry concluded that the marketing campaign of the respondent appears to be deceptive in terms of Section 10 of the Act in general, read with sub-section 10(2) (b) of the Act which prohibits distribution of false and misleading information to consumers. Moreover, marketing campaign of the Respondent demonstrates that the public was actually deceived into perceiving that ‘Strepsils’ was still a medicated sore throat remedy. The Respondent’s misleading campaign was also capable of harming the business interests of other undertakings in, prima facie, violation of Section 10(1) in general, and in particular, Section 10(2)(a) of the Act.
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