The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has published rulings on the advertising by individuals of weight-loss medicines on social media. For example, in the case of Menwell Limited, trading as “Voy”, the complaints concerned messages posted by private individuals on Instagram. For example, one individual posted:
an image of a man with overlaid text stating, “A year ago today I was fat”. Text in a caption stated, “[…] go see if you are eligible for Voy’s medicated weight loss [sic]. DM the word Voy and I’ll send you a link for 25% off […] #mounjarojourney #mounjaroweightlossjourney #mounjarojourney #mounjarotribe […]”
Voy contended that where an individual posted information about themselves on social media (whether or not that was as part of a voluntary affiliate programme, or as part of a refer-a-friend scheme), that would be a matter for them.
The ASA considered that the posts, which were in non-paid-for space online, were under Voy’s control. As the operator of the scheme, they could, for example, stipulate how the referral codes were to be shared, impose a cap on the number of referrals that could be made with a code or credits that a member could accrue, and they could decide to revoke existing credits if members did not comply with their terms or guidelines. They therefore had a degree of control over the social media posts of the members of their referral schemes.
The ASA ruled that the advertisements were in breach of the ASA code and informed Menwell and the individuals that the advertisements must not appear again.
As has been said before it seems like a game of whack-a-mole and ASA powers seem restricted to stating ‘the advertisement must not appear again’. The access to prescription only medicines via search engines which promote on price and weight loss has not changed. Asking people to consent to off-label prescribing without a full understanding of the implications is exploiting peoples lack of knowledge. GMC guidance is clear “You should not collude in the unlawful advertising of prescription-only or unlicensed medicines to the public by prescribing via websites that breach advertising regulations.”