Applying the regulations

Advertising biocidal products is subject to certain rules which are specified in the Biocidal Products Act. These rules must be complied with in every advertisement of a biocidal product - whether in the printed media, special advertising brochures or on the internet, radio or television.

According to section 26 of the Biocidal Products Act, every advertisement of a biocidal product must be accompanied by the following sentences: "Use biocides (or: a detailed description of the product type) safely. Always read the label and product information before use." These sentences must be clearly distinguishable in relation to the whole advertisement. Furthermore, advertisements for biocidal products must not refer to the product in a manner which is misleading in respect of the danger or risks from the product to man, animals or the environment. Indications such as "low-risk biocidal products", "non-toxic", "harmless", "ecological" and similar indications are expressly prohibited.

Advertising in general has to be understood as "a deliberate activity influencing people without force through specific means of communication for the purpose of selling". The purpose of using advertising material is to provide a means for potential sales initiation or sales promotion. Apart from advertisements on radio and television or in printed media, a large variety of brochures, folders or information leaflets can thus be used as advertising material, as well as sales catalogues and specific product information. Relevant product descriptions, shopping offers and similar sale-promoting measures also count as advertising.

How - and how often - information according to section 26 subs. 1 of the Biocidal Products Act has to appear in catalogues - or other material - where several biocidal products, or one biocidal product and other products, are advertised, is not expressly specified under section 26 of the Biocidal Products Act. However, the information must clearly refer to the advertised biocidal product. If e.g. biocidal products are shown or described in a particular part of the text, it is sufficient that the indications stipulated in section 26 subs.1 of the Biocidal Products Act appear once in this particular part of the text and are clearly distinguishable. In catalogues containing a mixture of advertisements - e.g. gardening accessories, soil, fertilisers, plant protection products etc. - and in-between single advertisements of biocidal products (which may not even be recognisable as such), measures have to be taken to make sure the information according to section 26 subs. 1 of the Biocidal Products Act can be allocated to the biocidal products described in the advertising material, e.g. by clearly referring to the advertised biocidal products (whose description or picture must appear near enough to the required text according to section 26 subs. 1 of the Biocidal Products Act). Depending on the circumstances in individual cases, the information can be shown in more than one place. On the internet, the relevant information must appear within the context of the product presentation.

If technical product information or safety data sheets are used for product promotion and sales initiation, section 26 of the Biocidal Products Act applies also to these materials.

When is information according to section 26 subs. 1 of the Biocidal Products Act clearly distinguishable in relation to the whole advertisement?

It is recommended that advertising materials which are in writing and contain pictures should present the required text with the title "Important safety instructions" or at least in a font colour that is different from - and a font size that is larger than - the text of the advertisement.

A clear distinction can also be achieved by other graphic methods such as using a different background, bold face or similar means. This also applies to advertisements on television: the required text according to section 26 subs. 1 of the Biocidal Products Act may appear e.g. in a separate block across the screen (as in advertisements of pharmaceutical drugs), or as a line appearing during the whole biocidal product advertisement (it should be noted that this line must be distinguishable, e.g. by a sufficiently large font size, adequate speed and an optical design that is clearly different from the background images).