Adverts by a Birmingham company which implied a ‘clever little’ tablet could help drink drivers pass breath tests have been banned.

The Soho Hill based company claimed Alcopal tablets would “guarantee to improve impairments caused by consuming alcohol” and stated: “Enjoy your night out without the fear of being spiked or ending up in a drunken stupor”.

But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled the advertising on the website alcopal.com made health claims which breached its code of conduct and has now ordered them be taken down.

Alcopal tablets, made in India, have also been marketed as a means of passing breathalyser tests and condemned by road safety campaigners as a result.

The firm’s owner Arthur Kibble, from Streetly, has previously stated that it will not improve a driver’s performance behind the wheel, only enable them to pass a breath test by suppressing the amount of alcohol on the breath.

The ASA said that the advertising claimed that Alcopal would stop alcohol being absorbed into the bloodstream.

It said: “We therefore considered the claim was an implied health claim. In the absence of evidence that there were any such health claims authorised on the EU Register for Alcopal or its ingredients, we concluded that it breached the code.”

It ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: “We told Alcopal to ensure they did not make unauthorised health claims in future and to ensure that claims which referred to general, non-specific health benefits were accompanied by a specific authorised health claim.”

Last year Mr Kibble claimed he had resigned as an agent for Alcopal after being threatened on his doorstep by the husband of a victim of a drink driver. He also said he had been inundated with hate mail.

Yet he is still listed as the company’s director. Alcopal has not responded to the ASA.