UK watchdog bans ads for oral weight loss medicines

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned advertisements for oral weight loss medicines for promoting unlicensed and prescription-only products to the public in the UK.

Simple Online Pharmacy was found to have promoted oral GLP-1 treatments via social media and website waitlists before any such medicine had received UK marketing authorisation. While the first oral GLP-1 tablet for weight management was licensed on June 11, the ASA ruled that medicinal claims cannot be made for unauthorised medicines.

Additionally, Pharmacy Online was banned for promoting the oral Wegovy tablet to the public after it had been licensed as a prescription-only medicine. The ASA also issued rulings against MedExpress, Juniper, and the Care Pharmacy for promoting prescription-only medicines, noting that consumers can identify the products even without direct names being used. The watchdog stated it will continue to monitor emerging trends regarding these medications.