‘Scaremongering’ face mask ads banned over misleading claims

FACE mask adverts have been banned for the first time as the advertising watchdog ruled they wrongly claimed to prevent coronavirus.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rushed through the rulings on several ads that were found to be “misleading, irresponsible and scaremongering”.

One of the ads, which appeared on news websites, linked to sites that referred to the death toll from the virus and made claims that the regulator ruled were scaremongering. The sites said the virus was “spreading so fast it’s barely controllable” and referred to a “growing sense of panic”.

A separate product listing on Amazon for “anti corona virus [sic]” face masks was also banned as the ASA said using the term coronavirus in the name “was likely to exploit people’s fear” regarding the outbreak.

Demand for the masks has soared despite official guidance from Public Health England and the Government saying they should only be worn by those who are displaying symptoms and who have been told to wear one by a doctor.

UK Meds, an online pharmacy, said its sales of masks had increased by 8,000 per cent in the past month.

The ads must not appear again in their current form. Attempts were made to contact both the firms involved.

This comes after Emmanuel Macron, the French president, announced the country is to “requisition” all face mask stocks and production in the coming months in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We will distribute them to health professionals and to French people infected with the coronavirus,” Mr Macron said on Twitter. France has strategic stocks of 160million protective masks.

Mr Macron’s aides said it was a “highly symbolic” move aimed to “reassure the population by showing that the state is assuming all its responsibilities in crisis management”. There is no indication that the British Government is considering a similar move.

In the UK, research by Kantar Worldpanel found that sales of hand sanitiser soared by 255 per cent in February. Sales of liquid soap increased by 7 per cent and household cleaning products by 10 per cent.

Amid concern over supply, Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, said yesterday that there was no reason to panic-buy food or other supplies.