'Irresponsible and illegal' first oral weight loss medicine ads banned by advertising watchdog
Some of the biggest online pharmacies in the UK have been found to have released 'illegal and irresponsible' advertisements related to weight loss pills.
The Advertising Standards Agency, which regulates advertisements in the UK, has confirmed that the likes of Juniper, MedExpress, Simple Online Pharmacy and Pharmacy Online were all guilty of promoting unlicensed medicines and prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public.
Ever since the likes of Ozempic and Mounjaro became commonplace among celebrities, they have exploded in popularity with the general public, with many seeking out the GLP-1 medications as a seemingly quick and easy way of losing weight, despite the various side effects that have been associated with them.
In the UK, Semaglutide and Tirzepatide medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are available through the NHS, but you'll need to adhere to strict guidelines if you want to be eligible to receive them through the NHS.
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This led many flocking to the aforementioned online pharmacies, where it is worryingly easy to get your hands on a prescription, even if you're nowhere near an unhealthy weight.
When it was confirmed in June that the semaglutide (Wegovy) tablet had been approved by the MHRA, this process was likely to become even easier, with many who had a fear of self-injecting likely to feel much more at ease about taking a daily pill for their weight loss.
However, Simple Online Pharmacy released an advertisement promoting it before it had even been approved, inviting customers to 'join the waitlist' for the controversial tablet.
The ASA states: "The first oral GLP-1 tablet for weight management was licensed as a POM on 11 June 2026. Before that date, there was no UK marketing authorisation in place for these medicines.
"Under the advertising rules, medicines must be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be promoted and medicinal claims cannot be made for an unauthorised medicine. Once a medicine is licensed as a POM, it cannot be advertised to the public."
Other pharmacies were also found to have broken the rules, with Pharmacy Online promoting the tablet through paid social advertisements, which are not permitted on TikTok or Instagram.
It is illegal to promote POMs directly to consumers in the UK and yet nearly every online pharmacy seems to do it - we've probably all seen the adverts on TV and on the sides of our buses.
While it is legal in the US, as we saw with Serena Williams' controversial Super Bowl advert, the online pharmacies in the UK have to utilise people on social media, as LADbible discovered in an investigation last year, where dozens of influencers were found to have broken the law by including affiliate links to medications in their bios, and making their content entirely focused on the results of their own weight loss journeys.
A quick look on TikTok reveals that this is still the case, despite the social media site's guidelines stating: "Ad content and landing pages for dieting and weight management products must prioritise responsible claims and cannot promote such products as being the sole solution for weight loss or weight gain.
"Any weight loss claims must target users aged 18 years or older, and must do so via the promotion of a healthy lifestyle."
Meanwhile, the ASA also made three further rulings against MedExpress, Juniper and the Care Pharmacy, which found that ads promoted POMs to the public, even though the medicines weren’t named directly.
The ASA also made it clear that simply not naming a medicine is not enough to be legally compliant, as 'imagery, language and claims, such as references to reducing cravings and appetite, significant weight loss or images of weight-loss injection pens', were enough to see the ads from the aforementioned brands banned.
The ASA said: "We know this remains a widespread and high-profile issue and we’re continuing to monitor ads and emerging trends in this area, working closely with our partners at the MHRA and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
"Weight loss prescription medicines are powerful treatments that should only be used under the supervision of a qualified medical professional. Advertising them irresponsibly or illegally can put people at risk, which is why this remains a priority for us."
This isn't the first time that some of these online pharmacies have come under fire, with MedExpress in particular criticised for exploiting body insecurities in their previous adverts, while also coming under fire for using social media influencers to advertise their content - something which seemingly hasn't changed.
Catherine Drewett, Investigations Manager at the ASA concluded: “The licensing of oral GLP-1 medicines represents a significant development in treatment options but also new challenges for regulators. We’ve 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. These are powerful medicines so it’s important that ads don’t encourage people to seek treatment in ways that could put them at risk”.
LADbible has contacted Juniper, MedExpress, Simple Online Pharmacy and Pharmacy Online for comment, as well as one content creator who declined to comment.
James Moorhouse