Sensodyne toothpaste slapped with Rs 10L fine for misleading ads

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has ordered discontinuation of certain misleading advertisements of Sensodyne toothpaste within seven days and imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on the manufacturer.   An official release on Tuesday stated that advertisements of Sensodyne products which make the claims ‘Recommended by dentists worldwide’ and ‘World’s No.1 sensitivity toothpaste’ have been ordered to be discontinued within seven days.

The authority also directed payment of penalty of Rs 10 lakh. Advertisements which show endorsements by foreign dentists have been ordered to be discontinued as per the earlier order passed by CCPA. The CCPA, headed by Nidhi Khare, “recently passed order against misleading advertisements of Sensodyne products which make the claims ‘Recommended by dentists worldwide’ and ‘World’s No 1 sensitivity toothpaste,” the statement said.

 Previously on February 9, 2022, the CCPA had passed an order directing discontinuation of advertisement of Sensodyne products which show endorsement by foreign dentists.   The CCPA had initiated suo-moto action against advertisement of Sensodyne products on various platforms including television, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

The ads show dentists practising outside India (UK) endorsing the use of Sensodyne products namely Sensodyne Rapid Relief and Sensodyne Fresh Gel for protection against teeth sensitivity. These advertisements make claims that Sensodyne is ‘Recommended by dentists worldwide’, ‘World’s No. 1 sensitivity toothpaste’ and ‘clinically proven relief, works in 60 seconds’, the statement said.