An Australian male health company which promised to help men lose weight and increase their libido through testosterone "restoration" treatments has been fined $127,500 for unlawful advertising.
Wellness Enterprises Pty Limited, which traded as Australian Male Hormone Clinic, was convicted of 17 charges in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
The charges were brought by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) after the clinic published newspaper advertisements which claimed they could treat testosterone deficiency.
"Australian men no longer have to suffer in silence with the symptoms of low testosterone," the clinic proclaimed in a full-page ad published in the Sydney Morning Herald in April 2017.
The advertisements claimed that its tailor-made programs "based on blood test results and hormone levels" could increase energy, focus, masculinity and strength, and ability to satisfy sexual partners.
AHPRA challenged the validity of the claims citing best available evidence.
This is the first time a corporation, not just an individual health practitioner, has been convicted following advertising charges brought by AHPRA.
"Our primary objective is to protect the public," AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said.
"Advertising can heavily influence a patient's decision-making around their healthcare needs and information in advertising must be accurate and based on acceptable evidence."
Wellness Enterprises Pty Limited was placed into voluntary liquidation last month.
'Too little, too late,' experts say
Some public health experts said health authorities had been too slow to act to stop health clinics running misleading advertising.
Ken Harvey, an adjunct associate professor at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, said companies often go into liquidation before any effective action is taken.
"Consumers are ripped off and fines will never be paid. The regulators need to move faster on these issues," he said.
"The regulators have got to move faster. In short, get their heads out of their arse."
The ABC had been contacted by many patients who signed up for pills from the Australian Male Hormone Clinic, only to be disappointed with what they received.
