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In short:
Women are being targeted on social media with advertising for products purporting to address the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, a Senate inquiry has heard.
But the inquiry has heard product claims are not necessarily "substantiated".
What's next?
The inquiry committee is expected to hand down its report with recommendations this September.
Ads for products promising to address the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause are flooding social media, creating a "shameful marketing war zone" in which many claims are left unsubstantiated, a Senate inquiry has heard.
Herbal supplement tablets and patches, teas, powdered drink supplements, cooling mists, and herbal enemas that purport to support hormonal balance are amongst the dozens of products that are marketed to women.
As advertising becomes more pervasive in the digital space because of the use of data-tracking, technology platforms are able to tailor ads to individuals.
Senators and experts discussed the topic this week at an Adelaide hearing of the Senate inquiry into issues related to menopause and perimenopause.
"There's an enormous and growing range of products and devices available, and social media is a way of these manufacturers reaching a large number of women," Women's Gynaecology Research Centre director Martha Hickey said.
"The claims that they make are not substantiated.
"It's really difficult for people who are looking for help, and to know what works and what doesn't."
Senator Marielle Smith, who chaired the inquiry's Adelaide hearing, said she was among those who had received targeted advertising for menopause products.
"We know women are being bombarded on social media," the senator said.
"I'm doing this inquiry as a senator, so naturally, I'm talking about and searching things to do with menopause and as a result, when I log on to Instagram, I'm being flooded with various ads for different supplements and that sort of thing.
"That's what we're hearing from women too."
Australian author Kaz Cooke surveyed 9,000 Australian women on their experiences of menopause and perimenopause, publishing her findings in her 2023 book It's The Menopause.
"The sale of so-called menopause products with herbal and other non-medical ingredients in Australia is a shameful marketing war zone into which women are thrust without sword or shield," Ms Cooke wrote in her submission to the inquiry.
Ms Cooke was critical of the use of influencer advertising of such products.
"It's astonishing that, for example, various former models, sports figures and actresses are selling 'menopause' products with no acceptable or even intelligible evidence for their discrete formulations," Ms Cooke wrote.
Therapeutic products sold in Australia are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which uses a two-tiered system.
Products "registered" with the TGA have to be evaluated for efficacy to ensure they do what they claim on the label.
However, products "listed" with the TGA may not be assessed for efficacy, and typically make "low level health claims" involving "relieving" or "soothing" particular symptoms.
'Sometimes could be dangerous'
Professor Hickey said there is little — and conflicting — information about menopause and its treatment available to healthcare workers and the public in Australia.
"We don't have evidence-based clinical guidelines for managing menopause in this country," she said.
"That's something that we really need to have, and we could then be producing much clearer messages."
The Senate inquiry has heard women experiencing symptoms of menopause and perimenopause may not be believed by their doctor when they seek help.
"What happens when a woman goes out and seeks help from their GP and isn't listened to and isn't supported is they look for care and support elsewhere, and we're hearing that women are going online looking for solutions," Senator Smith said.
"[It's] pretty reasonable, but these women are then also being met by marketed solutions, which aren't always effective and sometimes could be dangerous to their health."
While trying to ban advertising of unregistered menopause products on social media is one possible response, Professor Hickey said a more holistic approach was needed.
"The answer to this is not to criticise or blame or try and stop social media from trying to sell products — because that's not going to work," she said.
"The solution is empowering women with the information that they need, access to a clinician who will listen to them and be empathetic and offer them treatment if needed.
"Their workplace should be accommodating for them and we as a society should appreciate the value and contribution of midlife and older women to our workplace and our society more generally."
The Senate inquiry is continuing and the committee will deliver its recommendations next month.