Australia
In 2010, the Australian consumer advocate Choice awarded Nurofen a "Shonky award" for charging more for "targeted" products, all of which had the same active ingredient as the base product.[14]
In 2012, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration upheld a complaint that Nurofen's advertising of different products for different pain was "misleading or likely to be misleading", and ordered that "any representation that refers to two or more Nurofen products that contain equivalent quantities of ibuprofen and include the same product specific indications on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods must clearly indicate, in the body of the advertisement, that the two products can be used for the same purposes and are interchangeable (or words to that effect)".[15]
In April 2013, the Australian consumer affairs television programme The Checkout ran a story about Nurofen's claims about targeting specific pain. Edelman, the PR company for Reckitt Benckiser provided a statement, some of which was used in the programme. Included in the information provided by Edelman were photocopies of some 'sciencey looking documents' that confirmed that Ibuprofen was 'Non-selective'.
In March 2015, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched proceedings against Reckitt Benckiser; for misleading advertising for its targeted pain range. In December 2015, the Federal Court of Australia found that Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen, had misled consumers with its "Nurofen Specific pain range", and ordered that all Nurofen specific pain products be removed from retail sale within three months.[16] A spokeswoman for Reckitt Benckiser argued that, "[This] specific-pain range" was intended "to help consumers navigate their pain relief options, particularly within the grocery environment where there is no healthcare professional to assist decision making".[17] The ACCC said that the products were found to be "no more effective at treating the type of pain described on its packaging than any of the other Nurofen specific pain products", and sold for almost twice the price.[18] Specific pain range painkillers include Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension; and all contain the "same active ingredient, 342 milligrams of ibuprofen lysine".[17]
In April 2016, the Federal Court imposed a $1.7 million fine on Reckitt Benckiser.[19] The ACCC appealed the decision in May arguing that $1.7 million in penalties did not act as an adequate deterrent for a company the size of Reckitt Benckiser.[20] In December 2016, the Federal Court increased the fine to $6 million, the highest corporate penalty ever awarded for misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law.[21]
