Wellness and supplement brands / Outbrain
3 Outbrain policy rules bear on wellness and supplement brands
3 rules come from Outbrain policy and match the wording wellness and supplement brands use. None of them is exclusive to Outbrain. The rest are shared with the policies of Amazon Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Reddit. None of them block approval; all 3 warn. Of the 12 platforms with a page for this industry, it has the 8th most rules.
What Outbrain policy adds
Platform rules are about ad approval and account risk, not law, and policies change. These are the Outbrain rules whose wording is about supplements, structure-function wording, CBD and weight-loss products. They run when Outbrain is selected in the checker.
CG-PLT-013 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pinterest does not allow claims regarding the prevention or cure of disease, and Google does not allow non-approved products marketed as safe or effective for preventing, curing or treating a particular disease. Meta bars claims to cure, heal or eliminate incurable diseases (diabetes, herpes, thyroid conditions, psoriasis, cancer, autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, HIV and others), even from health professionals. Reddit, Amazon, Outbrain, Nextdoor, Apple and Taboola bar implying that a product or supplement diagnoses, prevents or cures disease.
Source: Pinterest Advertising Guidelines (healthcare products and services); Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy (unapproved substances); Meta Advertising Standards, Unrealistic outcomes; Meta Advertising Standards, Health and wellness; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy; Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy; Outbrain Advertising Guidelines; Nextdoor Ads Policy; Apple Advertising Services policies; Taboola Health Supplement Advertising Guidelines
Safer wording: Say what the service does ("screening", "education", "treatment plans reviewed by a clinician") and leave out prevent, cure and reverse.
Meta Advertising Standards, Unrealistic outcomes, Meta Advertising Standards, Health and wellness, Taboola Health Supplement Advertising Guidelines, Outbrain Advertising Guidelines, Nextdoor Ads Policy, Apple Advertising Services policies, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy, Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy, Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy, Pinterest Advertising Guidelines
CG-PLT-016 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pinterest bars before-and-after weight-loss imagery and Snap bars before-and-after pictures in diet, fitness and dietary supplement ads. Meta lists a before-and-after weight loss image as non-compliant, and Reddit, Amazon, Nextdoor and Outbrain bar before-and-after photos in weight loss, supplement or cosmetic ads. Microsoft, Taboola and Yahoo allow them only if realistic and honest about the time taken. The same wording also draws FTC attention to typical results.
Source: Pinterest Advertising Guidelines (weight loss products and services); Snap Ads Category Requirements, Health (health and dietary supplements, diet and fitness); Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy; Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy; Nextdoor Ads Policy; Outbrain Advertising Guidelines; Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy; Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty; Yahoo Ad Policy, Over the counter drugs
Safer wording: Remove the before-and-after pairing and show the clinic, the clinician or the process instead.
Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance, Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty, Outbrain Advertising Guidelines, Nextdoor Ads Policy, Yahoo Ad Policy, Over the counter drugs, Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy, Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy, Snap Ads Category Requirements, Health, Pinterest Advertising Guidelines
CG-PLT-030 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Meta lists anabolic steroids, chitosan, comfrey, DHEA, ephedra and human growth hormone as unsafe supplements. Reddit bars supplements with anabolic steroids, codeine, ephedra, HGH or opioids, Outbrain bars anabolic steroids, ephedra and HGH, Amazon Ads bars supplements with ephedrine alkaloids or Salvia divinorum, and X bars supplements that contain or reference anabolic steroids.
Source: Meta Advertising Standards, Unsafe substances; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy; Outbrain Advertising Guidelines; Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies; X Ads healthcare policy
Safer wording: Take the ingredient out of the ad and the product, or do not advertise the product on these platforms.
Meta Advertising Standards, Unsafe substances, Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies, Outbrain Advertising Guidelines, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy, X Ads healthcare policy
What the checker flags with Outbrain selected
Sample wording we wrote, run through the engine with Outbrain selected. Only samples where a Outbrain rule fires are shown.
Our supplement cures anxiety and replaces your medication.
- Blocks approval
CG-DIS-016Also matches CG-RPL-003, CG-RPL-007, CG-TRG-001, CG-RAF-005, CG-RFA-001, CG-DIS-001, CG-TRK-012, CG-PLT-013A sentence that names a disease or condition and says it was cured, reversed, cleared, beaten, fixed or removed is a disease claim, however it is worded. For a product it makes the product an unapproved drug. For a service it needs substantiation and a statement of typical results.
Source. FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording. Describe what the product contains or what the service involves and leave the disease outcome out. If a clinician treats the condition, say who, and that results vary by patient.
The federal rules that still apply
44 federal and general rules matched to wellness and supplement brands run next to the Outbrain ones. The ones that weigh most:
CG-DIS-002 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
A treatment claim for a named disease is a drug claim for a product, and needs support for a clinical service.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: For a clinical service, state who delivers care and what is offered ("our licensed clinicians evaluate and manage ..."). For a supplement, remove the disease reference.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
CG-DIS-013 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
A pain-relief claim for a supplement or wellness product treats a symptom of disease, which is a drug claim. For an approved over-the-counter drug or a clinical service, check that the wording matches the label or what you can support.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording: For a drug, use the approved indication from the label. For a service, describe the care and say results vary.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
CG-DIS-019 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Claims to slow, stop or prevent a serious disease, or to restore function after spinal cord injury, are disease claims that need drug approval and evidence.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FDA consumer alerts on stem cell and dietary supplement disease claims; FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: Remove disease slowing, prevention and recovery claims. Describe a supplement by its nutrients only, and a stem cell service only as an investigational study.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
CG-DIS-022 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Copy aimed at people who have a named disease ("Suffering from Crohn's?", "women with endometriosis love this") tells the reader the product is for that disease. FDA reads the intended use from this kind of audience targeting, and it makes a supplement an unapproved drug.
Source: 21 CFR 101.93(g); 21 CFR 201.128 - intended use; FDCA 201(g)(1); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording: Describe the product and the normal function it supports, and do not address people by their disease. A clinic may describe who it treats and that results vary.
21 CFR 101.93(g), 21 CFR 201.128 · Needs counsel review
Everything for the industry is on the wellness and supplement brands page, and all Outbrain rules for any industry are on the Outbrain page.
Next step
Check your Outbrain supplement copy
Pick Outbrain in the checker's ad platforms picker and every flag cites the rule and source listed above.