Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of online advertising regulations for prescription weight loss drugs.

The advertising and promotion of medicines in the United Kingdom is set out under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (Part 14). These legal requirements are set out in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Blue Guide, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-guide-advertising-and-promoting-medicines

A UK business that provides a treatment service for consumers is required to comply with the law on the advertising of medicines. Such businesses may promote a treatment service that may lead to the supply of a prescription only medicine (POM). However, they must not promote specific POMs to the public, as the law prohibits the issuing of an advertisement to the public likely to lead to use of a POM.

This regulation aims to protect public health by ensuring that the appropriate management of a condition for an individual consumer is done via joint consideration between the prescriber and the patient in a professional consultation, taking into account a potential range of medical factors and therapeutic options.

The website homepage of a business, and any linked social media content, should focus on medical conditions and the services provided, and casual browsers should not be presented with information on specific POMs.

The MHRA is obliged to consider complaints received about the advertisement of POMs to the public. Advertising investigations are done on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case. Completed advertising investigations leading to the correction of advertising materials are published on the MHRA’s website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/advertising-investigations-by-mhra

The MHRA works closely with other regulators to help ensure that the public is protected from the advertising of POMs. In particular, a joint enforcement operation is in place with the Advertising Standards Authority to take targeted action against weight-loss treatment providers who use social media to promote POMs. Further information from the Advertising Standards Authority is available at the following link:

https://www.asa.org.uk/news/prescription-only-weight-loss-products-an-enforcement-notice.html

The MHRA also works closely with the General Pharmaceutical Council, who have issued guidance for pharmacies that operate at a distance, including online, which is available at the following link:

https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/about-us/news-and-updates/regulate/patient-safety-spotlight-improving-provision-weight-loss-services-through-shared-learning