UK watchdog bans weight-loss pill ads aimed at the public
Britain's ad watchdog has banned four ads for pushing weight-loss drugs that need a prescription, according to The Independent. Two of the ads were from the online health firm Voy. Drugs that need a prescription cannot be advertised to the public in the UK.
The Advertising Standards Authority banned two ads from Voy's “The weight is over” campaign, according to The Independent. The watchdog also banned ads by Juniper and MedExpress, the paper reports.
One Voy ad, seen on the side of a bus in July, showed a hand holding a white tablet under a headline using the campaign slogan, The Independent says. The other, shown on video on demand in August, showed a pill next to wording about oral weight support.
The first GLP-1 weight-loss tablet was licensed in June, the paper reports. It is sold only by prescription. The ASA said the Voy ads were likely to make people think of the new Wegovy tablets. It said people would not think of a food supplement.
A YouTube ad for Juniper said “The weight loss pill is here,” and an Instagram ad for MedExpress promoted “New weight loss tablets” and “No needles,” The Independent reports.
“Prescription medicines are not consumer goods, and promoting them can have serious impacts on public health,” said Julian Beach of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, according to the paper.
Last month, ads for oral weight-loss medicines became the first to be banned for promoting unlicensed and prescription-only products to the public, The Independent says.
Only The Independent has reported this so far, and NewsHabit hasn't seen independent confirmation.
The ASA said small print mentioning glucomannan was not enough to change that impression, The Independent reports. The video ad also sent people to a website with prescription-only weight-loss medicines, the paper says.
What we know: The ASA banned four ads for promoting prescription-only weight-loss medicines.
What we don't: Whether the other banned firms will appeal. No second outlet has confirmed the rulings yet.
Where outlets agree This is one outlet's report, with The Independent saying the ASA banned four weight-loss medicine ads.
Where they differ Voy says the campaigns were clinician-led and developed to align with UK advertising standards, and that it withdrew the ad during the investigation, The Independent reports, while Juniper and MedExpress have not responded in the report.