Update to Healthcare and medicines policy (July 2024)

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In August 2024, Google will revise the planned update to its Healthcare and medicines policy regarding opioid painkillers. Google will allow verified election advertisers to apply for a certification that will enable them to refer to opioid painkillers without promoting or selling them.

Prescription opioid painkillers

Google does not allow ads promoting or selling prescription opioid painkillers. This does not include medication-assisted treatment (MAT) drugs for opioid use disorder that meet all other requirements for prescription drugs listed on this page.

In limited cases, and where permitted by local law, Google allows some advertisers to apply for a certification that will allow them to refer to opioids in their ads. These advertisers include (a) public health and safety awareness campaigns from governmental or well-established non-profit health advocacy organisations, (b) ads for non-opioid pharmaceuticals that only refer to prescription opioids in their safety information, (c) certified addiction treatment providers in the United States and (d) verified election advertisers. Verified election advertisers may only target regions in which they are certified to run election ads.

Advertisers without any of the above certifications are prohibited from referring to opioid painkillers in their ads whatsoever. Advertisers can apply for any of the above certifications here.

We take abuse of these certifications very seriously and consider it an egregious violation. In determining whether an advertiser or destination is violating this policy, we may review information from multiple sources including your ad, website, accounts and third-party sources. If we find an advertiser has abused these certifications by running ads selling or promoting opioid painkillers, we will suspend their Google Ads account upon detection and without prior warning, and they will not be allowed to advertise with us again. If you believe that there's been an error, and that you haven’t violated our policy, submit an appeal and explain why. We only reinstate accounts in compelling circumstances, and when there's good reason so it's important that you take the time to be thorough, accurate and honest. Learn more about suspended accounts.

(Posted on 29 July 2024)

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