Nurofen fined $6m for misleading consumers following ACCC case over 'specific pain' range
By Nick DoleThe manufacturers of Nurofen will be fined $6 million for misleading consumers.
Earlier this year, the ACCC won its case against pharmaceutical giant Reckitt Benckiser over the company's "specific pain" range.
The Federal Court found the products were misleading because they all contained the same active ingredient and did the same thing.
It handed the company a $1.7 million fine, but today that was increased to $6 million after the consumer watchdog appealed. The ACCC had originally asked the Federal Court to impose a fine of $6 million.
The company has also been ordered to pay the ACCC's costs.
The specific pain range claimed to "target" back pain, migraine, tension headache or period pain, when they in fact they all contained the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg.
These pain specific Nurofen packages were set at a significant price premium to regular Nurofen.
There were various representations made on Nurofen's website that were also found to be misleading.
The ACCC argued consumers may have thought they needed to buy multiple products to achieve adequate pain relief.
Appeal Justices Jagot, Yates and Bromwich said the products were "inherently misleading".
"Contrary to the representations, ibuprofen does not target any particular type of pain. It treats all types of pain precisely the same way."
Between 2011 and 2015 the company sold 5.9 million packets of the specific pain medication, yielding revenue of $45 million.
In a statement, Reckitt Benckiser said it was "disappointed" with court's decision to impose a higher penalty.
"Nurofen is disappointed by this decision as it considers the original penalty of the Federal Court in April was appropriate in all the circumstances," the statement read.
"Nurofen did not intend to mislead consumers, however we recognise that we could have done more to assist our consumers in navigating the Nurofen Pain Specific Range."
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the body was very pleased with the appeal result.
"We're trying to make sure that particularly larger companies take notice of making sure they comply with Australian consumer law," he said.
"We're trying to make sure that fines register in corporate boardrooms — that large companies cannot be misleading consumers.
"That does enormous detriment to the consumers involved, to the economy generally and [to] those who are competing against those companies so we felt a stronger message needed to be sent."
Mr Sims put other companies on warning, noting the ACCC had started proceedings on a number of similar cases recently.
"The boards of companies and the chief executives of companies need to make sure their marketing people aren't pushing the limits to misleading consumers," he said.
In December 2015, the Federal Court ordered that all Nurofen specific pain products be removed from retail sale within three months, and the company post corrective notices in newspapers and on its website.