Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on prescription-only medicines (POMs) used for weight loss. The ads were identified for investigation following intelligence gathering by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules.
Ad description
A paid-for Google search ad for Juniper UK, seen on 30 August 2024, stated “GLP-1 Weekly Weight Loss Injection” and featured an image of an injection pen.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ad breached the Code because it promoted POMs to the public.
Response
Juniper Technologies UK Ltd t/a Juniper UK said they had removed the ad in early September, prior to the launch of the ASA’s investigation, following an internal review. The landing page on their website, which referred to Wegovy weight-loss injections, which was accessed from the ad, was not linked to other ads so had become inaccessible from that date. They believed that the discount on the landing page of their website which was accessed from the ad should not be construed as the promotion of a POM as it applied to the cost of the Juniper programme, which included coaching, their app and access to community services, and not the medicine alone. They also said that their programme offered both POMs and over-the-counter (OTC) medications.
They also said that they had updated their compliance processes.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that POMs or prescription-only medical treatments must not be advertised to the public.
The ad referred to “GLP-1”, “Weight Loss Injection”, a price claim “£135” and contained an image of a plain white unbranded medical injection pen.
The ASA understood that GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) was a class of POMs, and that consumers would likely understand GLP-1 as reference to a class of POMs used for weight loss. Therefore, we considered the reference to “GLP-1” in the ad promoted POMs to the public.
We understood that all injectable forms of weight-loss medication were POMs. The ad contained an image of an unbranded medical injection pen. Although the pen did not feature the name of a POM, we considered that the image of an injection pen, in the context of an ad for weight-loss treatment, would be understood by consumers to mean a POM. Therefore, we considered the image of the unbranded injection pen, promoted a POM to the public.
Similarly, we considered that consumers would have understood the reference to “Weight Loss Injection” as a reference to a POM. Therefore, the claim “Weight Loss Injection” also promoted a POM to the public.
The price in the ad was £135. The website landing page, to which the ad linked, featured Wegovy, both of which were injectable weight-loss POMs containing semaglutide, and contained a discount code, which reduced the price from £189 to £135 a month. We acknowledged that Juniper UK said the medicine was part of an overall programme, which included non-medicinal services, and OTC medicines. However, the landing page contained a pricing guide, which provided the price per dosage of Wegovy, and did not refer to any other treatments for weight loss. The price for “Dosage 1” was “£189 (0.25mg)” and this section explained that the cost of the Weight Reset Programme varied depending on the medication and dosage prescribed. Therefore, we considered that consumers would understand the £189 price for Dosage 1 of Wegovy, which was being offered at the discounted price for £135 as the price for treatment, which specifically included Wegovy, and not an OTC medicine. Therefore, we considered the discounted “£135” price in the ad, was a promotional price for a POM and promoted POMs to the general public.
We sought advice from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They expressed concern that as weight-loss injections and GLP-1s were legally classified as POMs, the use of those terms was likely to lead to a consumer requesting a POM.
We acknowledged that Juniper UK had removed the ad. However, because at the time the ad appeared, it advertised a POM to the public, we concluded that it breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Juniper Technologies UK Ltd t/a Juniper UK not to promote POMs to the public in future.
