Three adverts have been banned for making claims about supposed ways of treating or preventing catching Covid-19.
The Private Harley Street Clinic in central London promoted an intravenous “infusion” of vitamins and minerals to boost the immune system.
The procedure took 30 minutes and cost £350.
Its website state: “The Private Harley Street Clinic has assembled the best advice to boost your immune system and protect yourself from infection.”
According to Companies House, Private Harley Street Clinic limited has one director, Dr Mark Ali, and its accounts are overdue.
The Advertising Standards Authority banned the intravenous infusion promotion for making medical claims for an unlicensed medical product.
The second business slated by the watchdog for making medical claims is the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic.
It advertised a similar “super immune system booster drip” on Instagram, claiming that this was “a good way to boost your immune system and protect yourself from viral infections”.
The clinic in Knightsbridge, London, claims to have award-winning expertise in everything from lip enhancements to body contouring and “wellness treatments”.
The third business is Reviv UK, which has branches across Britain and abroad and says it is "the leading global provider of IV therapy and vitamin injections."
It promoted “megaboost” vitamin intravenous drips to “Help protect and prevent against the new strand of virus.”
It claimed: "We are also witnessing clinical trials in hospitals treating coronavirus using high intravenous doses of the powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C, with some initial positive results".
The small print at the bottom of the web page carried the disclaimer: “The material on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.”
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that it also broke rules because the “megaboost” was not a licensed medical product.
The adjudication stated: “We told Reviv UK Ltd to remove medicinal claims for unlicensed products from their advertising and not to use them in future.
"We also told them to remove medicinal claims for licensed products that were not in conformity with the products’ marketing authorisation from their advertising and not to use them in future. These included stated or implied claims that their IV drips, or their constituent ingredients, could prevent or treat coronavirus or Covid-19."
The watchdog fast-tracked all three investigations as part of its focus on tackling advertisments that exploit health-related anxieties during the crisis.
