A claim on a vegan advert by Viva! which said “milk contains 35 hormones, including oestrogen … some of these are linked to cancer” has been banned in the UK by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In a ruling, the ASA said that the advert would be understood by consumers to mean that due to the presence of hormones, drinking cow’s milk could increase a person’s risk of developing cancer and was therefore misleading.

Two complainants, who believed the claim implied that drinking cow’s milk could cause cancer, challenged whether the implied claim was misleading and could be substantiated. The ASA upheld the complaints.

In the ruling, the ASA said: “The ad must not appear again in the form complained about.

“We told Viva! not to make claims which stated or implied that due to the presence of hormones, drinking cow’s milk could increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.”

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A claim on an advert about cow’s milk by a vegan group has been ruled as misleading and the poster has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority.