Documented by Meta. The steps and rules on this page come from Meta’s own documentation.
How do Meta ads work for supplements?
Meta's Advertising Standards have no section titled supplements, but the Health and Wellness and Drugs and Pharmaceuticals policies both mention them. Dietary and health products must target people 18 or older, general food products including protein are exempt, and unsafe supplements are banned. CBD and hemp have their own conditions.
If you sell supplements, the first surprise is that Meta’s list of Advertising Standards has no page for them. As checked on 2 Oct 2026, the index has Health and Wellness and Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, and both of those policies mention supplements. Read the linked pages and ask a qualified adviser what applies where you sell.
Which Meta rules cover a supplement ad?
Three places in the policy mention products like yours:
- Health and Wellness: ads promoting or marketing dietary, health, or weight-loss or weight-gain products and services must be targeted to people at least 18 years old. Meta’s help article gives supplements or pills as an example of dietary weight-loss products.
- The same policy’s exemption list: general food products, including protein products, are exempt from the age rule.
- Drugs and Pharmaceuticals: Meta does not allow ads promoting the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products or supplements, as determined by Meta technologies.
Meta lists protein products as exempt from the age rule, and lists supplements or pills for weight loss as products that need it. Its pages do not say how it classifies a product that sits between those two.
Which supplements does Meta ban?
Meta says unsafe substances include, but are not limited to, anabolic steroids, chitosan, comfrey, dehydroepiandrosterone, ephedra and human growth hormones. The list is not exhaustive, and Meta says what counts as unsafe is determined by Meta technologies.
So an ingredient missing from the list is not a guarantee. Compare your formula with the list, and treat any stimulant or hormone-type ingredient as a reason to check Meta’s page and ask an adviser before you build ads.
What claims can a supplement ad not make?
Health ads may not claim to cure, heal or eliminate the diseases on Meta’s exhaustive list, which includes diabetes, cancer and HIV. Meta says this does not apply to claims about symptom treatment or management for those conditions.
Meta also bans clickbait tactics in a health, weight loss or weight gain context, such as sensational language with exaggerated or extreme claims, or promises of specific outcomes within a set timeframe without disclaimers or qualifiers. The weight loss page on this site covers the weight loss rules.
What do the rules say about CBD and hemp?
Meta’s cannabis policy is separate. It bans THC products and cannabis products with related psychoactive components. It lets advertisers promote legally permissible CBD products in the US with LegitScript certification and authorization from Meta, and says that at this time LegitScript only certifies non-ingestible CBD products.
Hemp products, defined as made from the cannabis plant without CBD or more than 0.3% THC, can be promoted in the US, Canada and Mexico, ingestible or not, without LegitScript or Meta certification. Ads for CBD or hemp cannot claim to treat, cure, prevent, mitigate or diagnose a disease or medical condition. Meta’s rejected examples include “Hemp oil improves concentration”.
What should you check before launch?
- Decide whether the product is a food product or a dietary, health or weight-loss product.
- If it is not clearly a general food product, set the minimum age to 18.
- Check every ingredient against Meta’s unsafe-substance list.
- Remove cure claims and unqualified timeframe promises.
- If the product has CBD or hemp, read the cannabis policy for your country first.
FAQ
Do vitamins need 18+ targeting?
Meta’s text names dietary and health products as 18-plus, and general food products, including protein products, as exempt. It does not name vitamins in the sources checked here, so set the minimum age to 18 unless you can show the product is a general food product.
Who decides whether an ingredient is unsafe?
Meta says unsafe substances are determined by Meta technologies, and that its list includes but is not limited to six named examples. If your ad is rejected, use Meta’s rejected-ad troubleshooting steps, and ask a qualified adviser about your formula.
Can I advertise a CBD supplement?
Meta’s help article says legally permissible CBD products can be promoted in the US with LegitScript certification and Meta authorization, and that LegitScript only certifies non-ingestible CBD products at this time. THC products are banned. Check the cannabis policy for your country before you plan.
Sources
- Meta Advertising Standards (index of policies) (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Health and Wellness (Advertising Standards) (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About Meta's Health and Wellness advertising policy (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About Meta's Drugs and Pharmaceuticals advertising policy (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About Meta's cannabis and cannabis derived products advertising policy (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.