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Advertisements for oral weight loss medicines<\/a> have become the first of their kind to be banned for promoting unlicensed and prescription-only treatments directly to the public.<\/p>\n Simple Online Pharmacy and Pharmacy Online marketed oral GLP-1 products<\/a> using social media posts and their own websites, encouraging people to join waiting lists, register interest, and place advance orders.<\/p>\n The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded that a Simple Online Pharmacy advert, published on 1 June, marketed oral GLP-1 treatments before any had gained regulatory approval in the UK.<\/p>\n The promotional material urged consumers to “join the waitlist” for a fresh oral weight-management medicine.<\/a><\/p>\n The initial oral GLP-1 tablet intended for weight management only received a licence as a prescription-only medicine on 11 June, prior to which no UK marketing authorisation existed for such drugs.<\/p>\n Under UK advertising rules, products must be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency<\/a> (MHRA) before promotion, and medicinal claims cannot be made regarding unauthorised treatments.<\/p>\n Once a medicine is licensed as prescription only, it cannot be advertised to the public.<\/p>\n The ASA also banned Pharmacy Online ads<\/a> promoting the oral Wegovy<\/a> tablet after it had been licensed as prescription only.<\/p>\n The ads included a website pop-up inviting people to \u201cpre-order\u201d the medicine and paid social media ads promoting an oral weight-management tablet.<\/p>\n The ASA found that these ads promoted a prescription-only medicine to the public.<\/p>\n The watchdog made three further rulings against MedExpress, Juniper and the Care Pharmacy for promoting prescription-only medicines to the public, even though they did not name the products directly.<\/p>\n The ASA warned that advertisers needed to consider the overall impression of an ad after its own research found that people did not need to see a named product to know it was referring to weight-loss medication.<\/p>\n It said it would continue to monitor ads and emerging trends for the medications, working closely with the MHRA and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).<\/p>\n It warned that weight loss prescription medicines were powerful treatments that should only be used under the supervision of a qualified medical professional, adding: \u201cAdvertising them irresponsibly or illegally can put people at risk, which is why this remains a priority for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Catherine Drewett, investigations manager at the ASA said: \u201cThe licencing of oral GLP-1 medicines represents a significant development in treatment options but also new challenges for regulators.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve acted quickly as this market has developed and these first rulings make clear that these oral medicines, like prescription-only injections, cannot be advertised to the public.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are powerful medicines so it\u2019s important that ads don\u2019t encourage people to seek treatment in ways that could put them at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n MHRA executive director of healthcare, quality and access Julian Beach said: \u201cWe welcome the ASA\u2019s action in these cases, which highlights the importance of dealing swiftly with adverts that break the rules.<\/p>\n \u201cThe MHRA expects all organisations promoting medicines to comply fully with advertising regulations, which exist to protect patient safety.<\/p>\n \u201cStimulating consumer demand for a new prescription medicine is not permitted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe take advertising that breaches the rules when promoting prescription-only medicines to the public, including weight loss medicines, very seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work closely with fellow regulators, including the ASA, to tackle advertising that puts public health at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? 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Simple Online Pharmacy and Pharmacy Online advertised oral GLP-1 treatments through social media ads and on their websites, including by inviting people to join waiting lists, register their interest and pre-order treatment (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iStock-892826582-fb1ed2ff.jpeg\")
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