Iowa Code Title IV. Public Health [Chs. 123-158] § 126.16. False advertising

1. The advertising of a drug, device, or cosmetic is false if it is false or misleading in any particular.

2. For the purpose of this chapter, advertising is false if it represents a drug, device, or cosmetic to have any effect in the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of arthritis, blood disorders, bone or joint diseases, kidney diseases or disorders, cancer, diabetes, gall bladder disease or disorders, heart and vascular disease, high blood pressure, diseases or disorders of the ear, mental disease or an intellectual disability, degenerative neurological diseases, paralysis, prostate gland disorders, conditions of the scalp affecting hair loss, baldness, endocrine disorders, sexual impotence, tumors, venereal diseases, varicose ulcers, breast enlargement, purifying blood, metabolic disorders, immune system disorders or conditions affecting the immune system, extension of life expectancy, stress and tension, brain stimulation or performance, the body's natural defense mechanisms, blood flow, and depression. However, advertising not in violation of subsection 1 is not false under this subsection if it is disseminated only to members of the medical, dental, or veterinary professions, or appears only in the scientific periodicals of these professions, or is disseminated only for the purpose of public health education by persons not commercially interested, directly or indirectly, in the sale of such drugs or devices. However, if the board determines that an advance in medical science has made any type of self-medication safe as to any of the diseases named in this subsection, the board shall by rule authorize the advertising of drugs having curative or therapeutic effect for such disease, subject to the conditions and restrictions the board deems necessary in the interests of the public health. However, this subsection does not indicate that self-medication for diseases other than those named in this subsection is safe and efficacious.