Health and Wellness

Policy details

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Health and Wellness
This policy covers two categories of ads: Adult Products and Reproductive Health.
Health and Well-being
Ads promoting or marketing dietary, health, or weight loss or weight gain products and services must be targeted to people aged at least 18 years or older.
Ads promoting or marketing cosmetic products, procedures or surgeries must be targeted to people aged at least 18 years or older.
Ads must not contain certain claims prohibited by our policy, as outlined below.
Overview
Meta restricts advertising content that promotes weight loss or weight gain products, cosmetic procedures and dietary or health supplements from targeting users under 18 years of age. Content must not contain certain claims prohibited by our policy, as outlined below.
Advertisers must follow our Community Standards, in addition to our Advertising Standards.
Guidelines
Ads can't:
  • Promote weight loss or weight gain products and services, or cosmetic products or procedures that:
    • Contains statements of inferiority about physical appearance (i.e. terms, descriptions or questions that are negative and attack an individual's appearance, specific body parts or hygiene).
  • Promote weight loss or weight gain products or services, that depict:
    • Close up on specific body area by pinching fat
    • Claims that results can be achieved solely by using wearable products
  • Promote skin whitening or bleaching products that cause permanent skin colour change.
  • Claims (including those from health professionals or health organisations) to cure, heal or eliminate any of the following incurable diseases and/or terminal illnesses (exhaustive list): Diabetes, Herpes, Thyroid, Psoriasis, Ebola, Cancer, Autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Note: This does not apply to claims about treating or managing symptoms of these conditions.
  • Employ clickbait tactics in a health, weight loss or weight gain context, such as sensational language with exaggerated or extreme claims, or promises of specific outcomes within a set time frame without disclaimers or qualifiers.
When targeting people aged 18 or older, advertisers can run ads that promote:
  • Dietary weight loss or weight gain products and services, such as supplements or pills. The ad can illustrate people using the product or the service and the impact of using it, and clearly indicate the time taken to achieve noticeable results.
  • Cosmetic products, procedures or surgeries such as:
    • Breast augmentation, breast reduction, abdominoplasty, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, rhytidectomy, labiaplasty, hair restoration surgery, dermal fillers, skin rejuvenation treatments, injectable treatments, chemical peels, micro-needling, non-ablative laser treatments, laser or light treatments or micropigmentation
  • General cosmetic products, procedures, operations depicting before-and-after transformation.
Note: For weight loss products that require prescription, please refer to the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals ads policy and comply with the geo-targeting and written permission requirements.
The age targeting restrictions above don't apply to ads that promote or sell:
  • Products and services marketed for general well-being, such as fitness services and equipment, and health clubs
  • General food products, including protein products
  • Non-permanent cosmetic and beauty products such as creams, make-up, hair products and digital editing apps
  • Dental products, such as teeth whitening products
Adult Products and Reproductive Health
Ads must not promote the sale or use of adult sexual arousal products or services, provided that the ads are focused on health and wellness, not sexual pleasure or enhancements, and are targeted to people aged 18 years or older.
Overview
Advertisers can run ads that promote sexual health, wellness and reproductive products and services. However, as a global company, we need to take into account the wide array of people from different cultures and countries who see ads across our technologies to avoid potential negative experiences. That is why we place additional restrictions on these ads, including the requirement to target audiences aged 18 or older.
Guidelines
Ads can't:
  • Promote sexual arousal products that focus on sexual pleasure or enhancement, such as:
    • Sex toys
    • Erotic products (e.g. erotic novels or poems promoted or marketed as primarily sexual in content; erotic costumes, cosmetics or fetish items; and non-surgical genital enhancement products)
  • Promote the sale or use of adult sexual services, including, but not limited to:
    • Adult entertainment businesses, such as strip clubs
    • Adult establishments, such as cabarets, adult cinemas and hotels for sexual fantasies
    • Instructional sexual services, such as tantric services, orgasmic therapy or tantric retreats for orgasmic therapy
  • Promote genital procedures or surgeries focused on sexual pleasure, such as G-spot augmentation, male genitalia enlargement.
When targeting people aged 18 or older, advertisers can run ads that:
  • Promote sexual and reproductive health and wellness products or services, as long as the focus is on health and the medical efficacy of the product or the service and not on the sexual pleasure or enhancement. And these ads must target people aged 18 or older. This includes ads for:
    • Products addressing sexual reproductive disorders or health issues, such as:
      • Prevention of erectile dysfunction
      • Premature ejaculation
      • Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD)
      • Pain relief during sex
      • The effects of menopause
    • Reproductive genital surgeries that address medical benefits, limited to:
      • Male circumcision
      • Vaginoplasty
      • Vasectomy
      • Gender reassignment surgeries
    • Contraceptive products, including condoms
    • Lube and pheromones
    • Women's reproductive health apps, such as:
      • Femtech apps
      • Ovulation tracker
      • Pregnancy progress tracker
    • Family planning methods, such as:
      • Family planning clinics
      • In vitro fertilisation (IVF) or any other artificial insemination procedures
      • Fertility awareness
      • Abortion medical consultation and related services
Note: For reproductive health and wellness drugs or treatments that require prescription, please refer to the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals ads policy and comply with the geo-targeting, and written permission requirements in addition to this policy.
The age targeting requirements above don't apply to ads that promote or sell:
  • Women's reproductive health products, such as menstruation tracking health apps
  • Sex education that shares reproductive health or sexual health awareness in an informational, educational or documentary, as long as there's no sexualised or suggestive content, and the focus is on health and not sexual pleasure or enhancement
  • Educational material or information about family planning services without any direct promotion or facilitation of the services
  • Women's hygiene products
  • Lingerie, swimwear or undergarments, as long as they do not violate the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity policy.
Enforcement
We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.
Review teams
Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.
Stakeholder engagement
Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.