MHRA Reaffirms Rules on Prescription Weight-Loss Medicine Advertising

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), alongside the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), has issued an updated Enforcement Notice clarifying rules on the advertising of prescription-only medicines (POMs) for weight management.

The notice, aimed mainly at pharmacies and businesses supplying these medicines, highlights the types of claims and imagery likely to breach regulations. Advertisers are advised to avoid terms such as “weight-loss injection,” “obesity treatment jab,” or “GLP-1”, as well as visuals suggesting prescription medicines. They must also ensure that ads for general weight-loss products or services do not redirect consumers to promotions of POMs.

The MHRA has already taken enforcement action against more than 25 businesses this year for illegal promotion of prescription weight-loss medicines and proceeds to work closely with the ASA to protect public health.

Learn more: GovMHRA and partners unite to reaffirm prescription weight-loss medicine advertising rules