Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on prescription-only medicines (POMs) used for weight loss, identified for investigation following complaints and intelligence gathered by the ASA.
See also related rulings published between 9 July 2025 and 4 November 2026.
Ad description
A poster on the side of a bus, for Voy, an online pharmacy, seen in July 2026, featured an image of a hand holding a white pill, around which large text stated, “The weight is over … voy”. Smaller text at the bottom of the ad stated, “Glucomannan supplement: All customers will have a consultation with a doctor or clinician. Glucomannan contributes to weight loss […] with a daily intake of 3g of Glucomannan in three doses of 1g each, taken with 1-2 glasses of water before meals.”
Issue
The complainants challenged whether the ad breached the Code because it promoted prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public.
Response
Menwell Ltd t/a Voy said the headline in the ad which read “The weight is over” was a play on words referring to weight loss and not having to wait, rather than an implied reference to a waiting list for a POM. They believed the natural and obvious meaning of the headline was that people who had had difficulty losing weight, which many people found challenging and struggled with for years, could use glucomannan and see quicker results, and therefore no longer have to “wait”. They highlighted that the ad did not refer to a POM by name or class, use POM-related terminology or injection imagery, or direct consumers to a webpage that referred to or implied a POM.
They said the plain white pill depicted in the ad was a glucomannan pill, consistent with the food supplement advertised, and did not consider that a generic white pill would be understood as representing a POM. They therefore believed the ad complied with the CAP Code requirements relating to the advertising of POMs.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that POMs or prescription-only medical treatments must not be advertised to the general public.
The ASA understood that the Wegovy (semaglutide) tablet was the first oral GLP-1 tablet to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and was licensed as a POM on 11 June 2026. Private availability followed in July 2026. We also understood that glucomannan, a food supplement used for weight management, had been used in the UK for decades as a regulated food additive (E425). Its availability as a weight-loss supplement increased following the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) approval in 2010 of the health claim that glucomannan, in the context of an energy-restricted diet, contributed to weight loss.
In assessing the likely consumer interpretation of the ad, we had regard to our research on how people interpreted ads relating to prescription-only weight-loss medicines, published in April 2026. We acknowledged that the research was conducted before oral prescription-only weight-loss medicines were licensed in the UK and therefore did not specifically examine consumers’ understanding of those products. Nevertheless, we considered the findings remained relevant to the broader question of how consumers identified advertising for prescription-only weight-loss medicines. The research found that the extent to which consumers identified advertising as promoting prescription-only weight-loss medicines varied considerably between ads, depending on the combination and strength of the signals used. Overall, the research demonstrated that consumers often inferred meaning from the combination of an ad's imagery, language, claims and overall presentation, and that, even where a medicine was not explicitly named, those combined signals could lead consumers to understand that a prescription-only weight-loss medicine was being promoted.
The ad featured a large image of a white pill and the headline “The weight is over … voy”, with much smaller text at the bottom of the ad referring to “Glucomannan supplement”.
It was seen in July 2026 at a time when the Wegovy oral tablet had recently been approved in the UK and had received significant press coverage, and private availability was rolling out. We considered that, given that context and the image of a white, round pill in the ad, consumers were likely to interpret the text “The weight is over” as meaning the wait for a GLP-1 oral tablet was over and it was now available from Voy. We also considered that the interpretation posited by Voy, that consumers would understand the play on words to mean that the “wait” to lose weight was over was less likely given the wider context in which the ad was seen.
For those reasons, we considered consumers were likely to interpret the ad as promoting the new oral form of Wegovy, rather than a longstanding over-the-counter supplement (glucomannan).
We did not consider the smaller text referring to glucomannan and to a consultation with a doctor or clinician, was sufficient to override that impression. We noted that the text appeared in a significantly smaller font than the ad’s prominent headline claim and imagery and was therefore unlikely to be readily noticeable or legible to many consumers viewing the ad. In any event, even where consumers did notice and were able to read that text, we did not consider it was sufficient to alter the overall impression of the ad that it was for the new GLP-1 oral tablet. We therefore considered that the ad promoted a POM to the public.
We sought advice from the MHRA, who, taking into account the consumer journey from the ad, considered that it was designed to promote the use of medicinal products. The MHRA was also very concerned that the design of the ad was disingenuous and would frustrate the intent of the regulations by trying to present the ad as being for a non-medicinal product (glucomannan). They said the ad went against the essential aim of complying with the advertising rules, which existed to safeguard public health and prevent the potentially dangerous overconsumption of medicinal products. The MHRA was also concerned that the ad was misleading and did not support rational use of a medicinal product.
Further, in addition to those overall concerns and in considering the consumer journey to and on the Voy website, they considered the ad was likely to lead to the use of a POM. They were also concerned that the claim “The weight is over” suggested that the effects of the medicinal product were guaranteed, which was also prohibited.
For the above reasons, we considered that the ad promoted POMs to the public and 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 Menwell Ltd t/a Voy not to promote POMs to the public in future.
