Key Summary
- While advertising prescription-only medications is illegal in the UK, some online pharmacies circumventing the rules as the demand is high
- The Advertising Standards Authority has now come up with new rulings to set clear precedents for advertisers
- ASA was investigating 13 advertisements relating to prescription-only weight loss medications
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has barred online pharmacies from advertising weight loss injections and cracked down on some providers for advertising prescription-only medications to the public.
While advertising prescription-only medications is illegal in the UK, some online pharmacies are circumventing the rules as the demand is high.
Weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are prescription-only medicines.
The ASA has now come up with new rulings to set clear precedents for advertisers.
The watchdog has banned advertisements from using the phrases “weight loss injections” and “weight loss pen”.
It has also prohibited the use of images of medical injection pens, whether or not unbranded, and images of a vial of liquid.
The ASA had been investigating 13 advertisements relating to prescription-only weight loss medications.
The ads banned this week include a January 6 Instagram post by reality TV star Gemma Collins that promoted the weight-loss service Yazen.
In the video accompanying the post, she had claimed Yazen had helped her go 'two sizes down'.
The post has now been amended to remove any reference to prescription-only medications.
Other providers who have had their ads banned include CheqUp, pharmacyonline.co.uk, HealthExpress.co.uk, Juniper UK, Cloud Pharmacy, and Phlo Clinic and SemaPen.
ASA is using AI tools to carry out searches for online ads for any breach of rules and catch repeat offenders.
While the NHS has made available some of the weight loss jabs, many buy them from online pharmacies.
