Boots WebMD Partners in Health
Symptoms|Medicines|Conditions
Return To Boots

Our sponsors

At Boots WebMD, we regularly seek sponsorships from relevant organisations, manufacturers, and other leaders dedicated to providing health and lifestyle information. Although there is a commercial benefit for Boots WebMD, sponsor information also benefits you, the Boots WebMD user, by providing you with information on health services, therapies, and products available in the marketplace. Boots WebMD provides opportunities for sponsors to bring you their marketing message and information about their products and services by publishing their information or links within our site.

We also allow third parties to provide funding for Boots WebMD to independently create information about certain topics in specified health categories. We have listed the differences between these two types of content below and the steps we take to help you understand what the labels mean.

When you see "Sponsor" on Boots WebMD

To help make sure you understand that this category of content is not Boots WebMD's content, we always label it as "Sponsored". Sponsored on Boots WebMD is content that has been created by, provided by, or influenced by the named sponsor. While "Sponsored" content is subject to Boots WebMD's Advertising Policy, it is not subject to Boots WebMD's Editorial Policy. The Sponsor is responsible for the accuracy and objectivity of Sponsored content. Boots WebMD takes meaningful steps to help ensure that you will not confuse Sponsored content (content that is influenced by the named sponsor) with content that is original Boots WebMD content and is governed by Boots WebMD's Editorial policy, including Boots WebMD Features, Boots WebMD Health News, and other original Boots WebMD editorial content.

For Sponsored content on Boots WebMD, you will find that:

  • • All content on Boots WebMD that is created, influenced, or provided by a sponsor is identified with the label "Sponsored by" or "From Our Sponsor."
  • • Content under this heading is from or created on behalf of the named sponsor. This content is not subject to the Boots WebMD Editorial Policy and is not reviewed by the Boots WebMD Editorial department for accuracy, objectivity, or balance.
  • • At the top of each Sponsored page, we place descriptive text to inform you that the content on the page is created, influenced, or provided by the sponsor and is under the named sponsor's sole editorial control.
  • • You are always informed that content originates from a sponsor before you click to access it, so you are always making an informed decision to view it. Links to this type of content are always identified with distinctive coloring, will carry the "Sponsor" label, and will carry the sponsor's name or logo.
  • • Within the sponsor's content, there may be links to the sponsor's web site.
  • • When links to the sponsor's web site are included in the sponsored pages, Boots WebMD takes meaningful steps to make sure you know that you are visiting another web site. We describe this in more detail in the Boots WebMD privacy policy.
  • • The sponsored content carries the copyright of the named sponsor or the rightful copyright owner.
  • • The sponsored content includes a descriptive line at the end of the content noting that Boots WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.

When third parties fund the cost of Boots WebMD editorial content

In addition to sponsored content, there are times that third parties offer to provide funding for the creation of Boots WebMD original content without having any influence over it. By allowing the funding of original Boots WebMD editorial content, we can bring you even more great, award-winning information to help you manage your health or make healthy changes to your lifestyle.

In these instances, you will find:

  • • We place descriptive text at the top of the page to let you know that Boots WebMD created or selected the content without influence from the company that funded the costs associated with the development and production of it.
  • • At the top of each page created with funding from a third party source, we place descriptive text to inform you that the content on the page is created by Boots WebMD under Boots WebMD's sole editorial control.
  • • You will generally see the words "funded by" followed by the name of the company that funded the content with a hyper link to the definition of "funded by".
  • • Funded by: Content under this heading is funded by a third-party and independently created or chosen by Boots WebMD. This content is subject to the Boots WebMD editorial review process for accuracy, balance and objectivity. The content is not edited or otherwise influenced by the supporting company except with the possible suggestion of the broad topic area. For more information, read the Boots WebMD sponsor policy.
  • • In some instances, we will also use one of the following three (3) additional labels to let you know that the content was funded by the named third party

It is important to note that while Sponsors on WebMD are subject to our Advertising Policy, where appropriate, they must also comply with guidelines from regulatory agencies like the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

Last Updated: October 2009

©2009 Boots UK Limited and WebMD UK Limited. All rights reserved.