Medical drugs, medical devices, and items that claim to treat or cure a disease are prohibited
What this rule means
Etsy does not allow medical drugs or medical devices. It also does not allow any item that claims to treat, prevent, mitigate, cure, or diagnose a disease or medical condition. You can describe general wellness benefits, such as supporting relaxation, but you cannot promise to fix a medical problem.
What Etsy says
Our policy also applies to medical drugs, medical devices, and any other item that claims to treat, prevent, mitigate, cure, or diagnose a disease or medical condition.Read Etsy's full Prohibited Items Policy
Why Etsy has this rule
Buyers can be hurt when they trust a health claim that is not true. A person who relies on a product to treat a condition may delay real care. Etsy cannot test the claims made in thousands of listings, so its policy prohibits medical drugs, medical devices, and any claim to treat, prevent, mitigate, cure, or diagnose a disease.
The rule does not stop you from selling soothing, scented, or comfort products. It limits the words you use to describe what they do. A product can be sold for its scent, texture, or look. It cannot be sold as a treatment.
Common mistakes
- Writing that a product 'cures', 'treats', 'heals', or 'prevents' a disease or condition.
- Naming a specific condition, such as anxiety, arthritis, or migraines, as something your product treats.
- Saying a product is approved by a health agency when you cannot show proof.
- Selling a medical device or a prescription-only item.
- Making disease-treatment claims for a supplement or food item beyond general wellness language.
- Copying health claims from a supplier's page or from a competitor's listing.
- Leaving health claims in old reviews or tags that you have not updated.
Examples
- AllowedYou sell a lavender sachet described as having a calming scent.
- AllowedYou sell a herbal tea described by its flavor and ingredients, with 'supports relaxation' as the only wellness language.
- AllowedYou sell a weighted blanket described by its weight and fabric.
- AllowedYou replace 'treats anxiety' with 'supports relaxation' in your listing.
- Not allowedYou sell a balm and say it cures arthritis.
- Not allowedYou sell a tea and say it treats a disease.
- Not allowedYou sell a prescription medical device.
- Not allowedYou write that your product diagnoses a medical condition.
How to stay compliant
- Remove any language from listing descriptions that claims to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a specific disease or medical condition.
- Replace explicit medical claims with general wellness or lifestyle language (e.g., 'supports relaxation' instead of 'treats anxiety').
- Delist any prescription medical device or pharmaceutical product — these require licensing to sell and are not permissible on Etsy.
Effort: medium · 30-90 minutes
If your suspension email cites this rule
Read the email and note the listing it names. Then read your title, tags, description, and photos for any statement about disease or medical conditions. Claims can hide in tags or in an image with text. A single sentence can be enough to draw a report.
Rewrite any claim to treat, prevent, cure, or diagnose so it describes only what the product is and how it feels or smells, with general wellness language at most. If the item is a medical device or a drug, remove it. Check your other listings for the same wording, since similar claims often sit in several of them. When you reply, show what you changed. Etsy makes the final decision, and no reply can promise a particular outcome.
Suspended over this rule?
Generate a complete, ready-to-submit Etsy appeal for this exact violation.
Common questions
Can I say my product helps with anxiety or sleep?
Be careful. Claiming to treat a condition breaks the rule. The guidance for this rule suggests general wellness wording, such as 'supports relaxation', in place of 'treats anxiety'.
Can I sell a medical device on Etsy?
No. Etsy's policy lists medical drugs and medical devices as not permitted.
Does the rule apply to foods and supplements?
Yes, when they claim to treat, prevent, mitigate, cure, or diagnose a disease. General descriptions of flavor and ingredients are not the problem.
Can I mention that a product is approved by a health agency?
Only if you can substantiate it. Approval claims without proof draw review, so leave them out if you cannot show evidence.
What is the difference between wellness and medical claims?
A wellness claim speaks in general terms about comfort or relaxation. A medical claim names a disease or condition and says the product treats, prevents, or cures it. The second kind breaks the rule.
Related prohibited items policy rules
- Guns, blatant weapons, and imitation firearms are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, and medical drugs are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Items that promote, support, or glorify hatred or discriminatory ideology are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Alcohol, tobacco, and gambling items are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Live animals and products from protected or prohibited species are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Human remains and most products derived from the human body are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Counterfeit currency, fake identification documents, and fraudulent items are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Products that have been officially recalled by governments or manufacturers are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Hazardous materials, explosives, and radioactive items are prohibitedSuspension risk
- Depictions of the sexualization of minors are prohibitedListing deactivation
- Pornography is prohibited; mature content must be listed and tagged correctlySuspension risk
- Toxic substances and hazardous chemical ingredients are prohibited or restrictedSuspension risk
- Items under complex legal regulation or registration systems may not be soldSuspension risk
- Items that pose a health or safety hazard, including unsafe toys, are prohibitedSuspension risk