The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) have issued a joint warning to businesses advertising newly licensed weight loss drugs and those that are not yet licensed.
The regulators said today that they had recently seen businesses promoting both “pipeline products, such as newer forms of oral and injectable products used for weight management, including waiting lists for these products” and “newly licensed oral GLP-1s, which are prescription-only medicines” (POMs).
Read more: Ads regulator raps Voy over Black Friday weight loss emails
Medicines must have a licence from the MHRA before they can be marketed, and it is illegal to promote POMs to the public in the UK.
The regulators added that because the treatments in question “are either still subject to regulatory review or are classed as POMs”, referring to them by name or “using language such as ‘GLP-1 tablets’, ‘oral GLP-1s’ or ‘the new weight-loss tablets’” is likely to break the law.
This “includes where waiting lists for those medicines are being advertised”, they noted.
“Level playing field”
ASA regulatory projects manager Jess Tye said the weight management sector is “fast-moving”, and the organisation regularly sees “new approaches in advertising from businesses”.
“We remain vigilant to these changes and will continue to act swiftly to take action where advertisers are not sticking to the rules,” she added.
Read more: ASA issues multiple rulings against Juniper for promoting POMs
“We expect advertisers to heed this warning to protect consumers and maintain a level playing field for businesses.”
GPhC chief pharmacy officer Roz Gittins said the regulator “will not hesitate to act where those that we register fail to meet our standards”.
Read more: Two pharmacies face MHRA action over weight loss ads
“This can include taking enforcement action against the pharmacy, the owner, the superintendent pharmacist or individual registrants,” she added.
And MHRA executive director of healthcare quality and access Julian Beach said it is “vital” that those marketing treatment services “understand the rules in place to protect consumers and remember their professional duty to safeguard healthcare consultations and decision-making”.
Read more: Less than half of Brits know GLP-1s are prescription-only, ASA finds
It comes after the ASA last month upheld two complaints against online pharmacy Voy over Black Friday promotions for prescription-only weight loss drugs.
And it follows the regulator banning numerous Juniper ads across Facebook and Instagram for promoting POMs to the public and suggesting that new mothers should “prioritise weight loss after birth”.
