Purifier advert banned for stating that it could destroy coronavirus

An ad for an air and surface purifier has been banned for stating it could destroy coronavirus. ad for the Go-vi Eradicator19, seen on the website protect-nhs.co.uk in November, included the claim "Proven to destroy Coronavirus* cells."

Text near the bottom of the page stated: "*Go-vi's Eradicator19+**airpurificationsystem hasbeentestedbyindependent laboratories and proved to be effectiveagainstthefollowing... H5N1 & Coronavirus – a reductionof5.7logs(99.9998%)inless than0.44secondsindestroying airborne H5N1 avian influenza virus."

The ad said testing had been carried out by The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon, France.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated whether the claim that the product could destroy coronavirus cells was misleading and could be substantiated.

Go-vi told the ASA that its productwaseffectiveatdestroyingcovid-19andhadbeentested byalaboratoryinfloridawhich was accredited by the US Centhe tres for Disease Control, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture, and Florida's Department of Health.

It said it was no longer promoting the product and that its website was no longer live as a result of a change in its business model.

The ASA said that although the ad did not specifically mention Covid-19, it was seen in the context of the pandemic and consumers would understand it to mean that the device could removethecovid-19virusfrom the air and therefore help protect against infection.