Court triples Nurofen fine to $6m over misleading packaging claims

December 16, 2016 12:11

In a bid to deter other “would-be wrongdoers”, the Federal Court has more than tripled a fine for FMCG giant Reckitt Benckiser after it was found guilty of claiming Nurofen could target specific areas of pain.

The victory by the consumer watchdog, which launched the action almost two years ago, sees the fine increased from $1.7 to the $6m, the amount originally called for by the ACCC. The larger sum was necessary to deter other companies from similar actions, the watchdog argued.

The issue was first highlighted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration three years ago when it challenged Nurofen’s claims of offering “targeted relief”.

Despite court orders interim packaging allows Nurofen to highlight specific pain until December 31

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Simon Canning

Simon Canning was Mumbrella's marketing and advertising editor from 2015-2017. In a career spanning journalism and communications over more than 30 years Simon has become one of Australia’s most respected analysts and commentators on the advertising, marketing and media industries. A regular commentator on radio and TV, Simon has also worked in media in the US and UK .

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