The UK manufacturer of Nurofen has been hit with an increased fine of A$6m (\u00a33.6m; $4.4m) for misleading customers in Australia.<\/p>\n
Australia’s Federal Court ruled last year that products marketed as targeting specific pains, such as migraines, were actually identical.<\/p>\n
Reckitt Benckiser was fined A$1.7m in April<\/a>, but Australia’s consumer watchdog argued the sum was too low.<\/p>\n The court on Friday agreed to increase the penalty.<\/p>\n “The objective of any penalty in this case must be to ensure that Reckitt Benckiser and other ‘would-be wrongdoers’ think twice and decide not to act against the strong public interest,” the court’s justices said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n The pharmaceutical giant was also ordered to pay the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) legal costs.<\/p>\n The ACCC said the company had profited substantially from misleading customers on products including Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache.<\/p>\n “This is the highest corporate penalty awarded for misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.<\/p>\n “The ACCC welcomes this decision, having originally submitted that a penalty of $6 million or higher was appropriate given the longstanding and widespread nature of the conduct, and the substantial sales and profit that was made.”<\/p>\n In a statement to the BBC, Nurofen said it acknowledged the court’s decision but would seek legal advice.<\/p>\n “Nurofen is disappointed by this decision, as it considers that the original penalty of the Federal Court in April was appropriate in all of the circumstances,” the statement read.<\/p>\n The court in April ruled that Reckitt Benckiser had contravened Australian consumer law by saying its Nurofen Specific Pain products were each formulated to treat a specific type of pain.<\/p>\n Each product contained the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg.<\/p>\n The company said: “Nurofen did not intend to mislead consumers, however we recognise that we could have done more to assist our consumers in navigating the Nurofen Specific Pain Range.”<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Reckitt Benckiser removed a TV advert for one of its products – Nurofen Express. The advert had implied that the capsules directly targeted muscles in the head.<\/p>\n The company has said it will not re-broadcast it, following complaints that the ad was misleading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"