The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), working alongside the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), has released an updated Enforcement Notice this week to reaffirm and clarify the regulations on advertising prescription-only medicines (POMs) used in weight management treatments.
According to the guidance, advertisers should refrain from using language that refers to POMs, such as terms like “weight-loss injection,” “obesity treatment jab,” or “GLP-1.” They should also avoid imagery that consumers are likely to interpret as representing a prescription medicine, as well as advertisements for general weight-loss products or services that direct consumers to other ads, such as website landing pages, that promote POMs.
This updated notice is directed as businesses, more notably pharmacies that make these medicines available to the general public, to provide clarity on the use of claims and images that will lead to breaking the rules.
According to the MHRA, this year has seen more than 25 businesses having had action taken against them for the promoting of POM for weight loss. The organisation added that they have worked closely with the ASA in their investigations into the promotion of prescription only weight-loss medicines.
A spokesperson from the MHRA commented, “The updated Enforcement Notice, issued jointly with the ASA and GPhC, reiterates and clarifies existing rules that prevent the promotion of prescription-only weight-loss medicines to the public. This is not new information but rather provides advertisers and businesses – including pharmacies – with guidance to help them adhere to long-standing advertising requirements. We have been – and continue to be – clear that we take the illegal advertising of prescription-only weight loss medicines to the public very seriously and we work tirelessly to crack down on those breaking the rules and putting people’s health at risk.”