ASA enforcement report on ADHD and autism claims in supplement ads
An ASA report on paid Meta and Google ads found 1,383 rule-breaking ads from 17 supplement advertisers, with compliance staying low between February and July 2026.
Scope of the report
The ASA released an enforcement report on 15 October 2026 concerning food supplements promoted with claims linked to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Its subject is paid advertising on Meta and Google, and the period studied runs from February to July 2026.
The report assesses the impact of enforcement against advertisers whose ads claimed to prevent, treat or cure traits of ADHD or ASD. It points to compliance that moved up and down after those actions, together with a fall in the number of harmful ads.
What the monitoring found
The ASA relied on its AI-based Active Ad Monitoring system. Across Meta and Google between February and July 2026, the system picked up 72.4k distinct paid ads for food supplements that seemed relevant to ADHD and ASD.
Within that set, the ASA identified 1,383 ads from 17 advertisers that broke the rules. Two kinds of problem stood out:
- Ads suggesting that supplements could treat, prevent or cure ADHD or ASD traits
- Health claims that fell foul of the Code
Compliance levels
Compliance stayed low throughout the monitoring period. The rate was 4.7% in February. It climbed to 31.2% in June, then dropped to 8.6% in July.
Close to half of the advertisers contacted were located outside the UK. According to the report, this may have played a part in progress towards lasting compliance being slower.
Steps taken with advertisers
Over the monitoring period the Compliance team got in touch with 17 advertisers in total. These were advertisers running large numbers of ads that reached significant audiences.
Of the 17, three had stopped advertising but had earlier made claims in breach of the rules. The remaining 14 were told by the ASA to take down or change the ads that caused concern.
The CAP Enforcement Reports series
This document belongs to a series called CAP Enforcement Reports. Each one sets out what CAP does about non-compliance in particular sectors, and demonstrates the effect of that work on overall compliance rates. The series draws on the AI-based Active Ad Monitoring system to follow ads in selected sectors.
Other recent ASA publications listed alongside it include an enforcement report on prostate tests and supplements, also dated 15 October 2026, and a Pulse Report on understanding health claims in online ads, dated 1 October 2026.
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