Home / Health / UK Bans Ads for Unlicensed Weight Loss Drugs
UK Bans Ads for Unlicensed Weight Loss Drugs
7 Oct
Summary
- Online pharmacies promoted unlicensed oral weight-loss treatments.
- Advertisements invited users to join waiting lists and pre-order.
- Weight-loss medicines are powerful and require professional supervision.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads from Simple Online Pharmacy and Pharmacy Online for promoting unlicensed and prescription-only oral weight-loss treatments. These advertisements appeared on social media and websites, encouraging people to join waiting lists and pre-order medication.
The ASA ruled that ads for Simple Online Pharmacy promoted oral GLP-1 treatments before any such medicine had been authorized in the UK. Pharmacy Online ads were banned for promoting the oral Wegovy tablet after it became a prescription-only medicine.
Further rulings were made against MedExpress, Juniper, and The Care Pharmacy for promoting prescription-only medicines indirectly. The ASA highlighted that advertisers must consider the overall impression of an ad. They will continue to monitor trends and work with regulators, stressing that these are powerful treatments requiring professional medical supervision.
MHRA executive director Julian Beach welcomed the ASA's action, stating that stimulating consumer demand for new prescription medicines is not permitted. Both regulators emphasized their commitment to tackling advertising that breaches rules and potentially puts public health at risk.
