Major win by vitamin company against the TGA - wonder who the 'anonymous' complainants represented?

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Swisse wins its "You'll feel better on Swisse" slogan appeal

The Therapeutic Products Advertising Complaints Resolution Panel had ordered Swisse to remove this ad because it is misleading. Picture: You Tube. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

SWISSE Vitamins was denied natural justice when the Therapeutic Goods Administration said it must cease using the advertising slogan "You'll feel better on Swisse", the Federal Court has ruled.

Federal Court judge Tracey, on Friday, ordered the TGA, the

federal government's medical regulator, to "reconsider" its March ruling, which was contested by the vitamin company.Justice Tracey

also set aside the decision by the TGA's Complaints Resolution Panel to

pull advertisements for 11 of Swisse's products.The panel had ordered Swisse to scrap advertisements for 11 products that claimed to be "clinically proven" or "independently tested", as well as its "Tired?

Stressed? You'll feel better on Swisse" tagline.But Swisse challenged the ruling in the Federal Court arguing it wasn't given enough time to defend the allegations.

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The vitamin company said the panel denied them "procedural fairness".Justice Tracey agreed and sent the matter back to the panel for further investigation.He also ordered the TGA to pay Swisse's legal costs in bringing the action to the Federal Court.Justice

Tracey said Swisse was brought before the TGA panel after it received two anonymous complaints about claims on its products.But during the January 19 hearing, the panel put forward claims that were not partof a specific complaint, so Swisse was not prepared to defend them.Justice Tracey said the panel had denied natural justice to Swisse.Swisse CEO Radek Sali welcomed the court decision."Swisse

has maintained all along that the process was fundamentally flawed, which is why we took the action that we did," he said."We feel completely vindicated by today's judgment."Swisse

leads the industry in Australia by publishing on its website relevant studies and research to support the ingredients in our products."The TGA later indicated it was likely to continue pursing the case."The

court has ordered that the matter be remitted to the panel for reconsideration because the panel did not give Swisse the opportunity to

make submissions on a number of the matters which the panel found to be

breaches of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code," a spokeswoman for the TGA said."However, the finding does not mean that the advertisements in question did not contravene the code."Advertisements featuring celebrities including television host Kruger, Bondi vet Brown and cricketer Ricky Ponting have continued to appear throughout the legal proceedings.

Meryl Dorey,SpokespersonThe Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.Investigate before you vaccinateEditor,Living Wisdom MagazineFamily, Health, EnvironmentPO Box 177BANGALOW NSW 2479AUSTRALIAhttp://www.avn.org.auhttp://www.living-wisdom.comPhone: 02 6687 1699 FAX 02 6687 2032skype: ivmmagFreedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them -- and then, the opportunity to choose. - C. MillsThe authority of any governing institution must stop at its citizen's skin. - Gloria SteinemWe rely on the help and support of our members and subscribers to continue offering our services freely and without prejudice.Please consider helping us by joining the AVN as a member. Go to http://www.avn.org.au to become a member or donate to support our work.We also sell books, videos and DVDs on vaccination and other health issues. Go to http://shop.avn.org.au/ for more details.