Scientologist drug claim on poster is censured

TheTelegraph/March 27, 2003
By Jonathan Petre

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against the Church of Scientology, which stated in a poster that it had rescued 250,000 people from drug addiction.

The council said that the worldwide religious movement had not proved its claim that as many as a quarter of a million addicts had stopped using drugs as a direct result of Scientology's intervention.

The Church of England's Birmingham diocese and several members of the public had objected to the poster, which was produced by the Scientologists to publicise a tour of parts of the country.

The poster read: "Scientology: applied religious philosophy. 250,000 people salvaged from drugs." There was also a free telephone number and a website address.

The council said it accepted that many people had stopped taking drugs with the help of Scientology, but the movement had not proved that they had all been addicts.