The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2026
An ordinary shoulder patch was advertised as a cure for a herniated disc
Yiwu Houwei sold an SMEK shoulder patch, an ordinary product, with ads claiming it treated herniated discs and back strain. It was fined 529,600 yuan.
Yiwu Houwei E-commerce · 2026-02
What happened
Yiwu Houwei E-commerce advertised its SMEK-branded shoulder-and-neck patch, registered as an ordinary consumer product rather than a medical device, with copy claiming it could treat named conditions: a herniated lumbar disc, general lower-back pain and lumbar muscle strain.
As with health-food claims, China's Advertisement Law bars ordinary goods from claiming they treat or cure a specific diagnosed condition — that language is reserved for products registered and tested as medical devices or drugs, with the evidence to back a treatment claim. A patch sold as everyday relief cannot promise to fix a disc injury.
In February 2026, Yiwu's market regulator ruled the advertising false and fined the company 529,600 yuan, one of ten cases the State Administration for Market Regulation later named nationally as a model enforcement action against livelihood-sector false advertising.
Why it happened
- Naming a specific diagnosis in an ad for an ordinary patch invited exactly the comparison a regulator is built to make: what the product is registered as, against what the ad claims it does.
- A shopper reading 'treats herniated discs' has no way to know the product was never tested for that claim, which is the harm the law is written to prevent regardless of any real relief.
- Selling comfort as cure crosses from exaggeration into consumer-safety territory, since it can delay someone from seeing a doctor for a real injury.
The lesson
An ordinary shoulder patch was sold with ads claiming it treated a herniated disc. The seller was fined 529,600 yuan. A product not registered as medicine cannot advertise as if it were one.
Aftermath
Yiwu's market regulator fined Yiwu Houwei E-commerce 529,600 yuan for false advertising, part of a national batch of ten cases the State Administration for Market Regulation cited as enforcement examples in livelihood-sector advertising.
Sources
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