Social media posts by members of the public promoting weight-loss injections have been banned by the advertising regulator for the first time.
The Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook posts used discount codes and referral links to advertise the drugs for the online pharmacies Voy, Zava, MedExpress and the online prescribing service UK Meds Direct, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said.
Weight-loss injections are a prescription-only medicine and cannot be advertised to the public.
The ASA said this meant Britons may be promoting weight-loss medicines to friends, family, and social media followers without realising they could be breaking the rules.
The posts promoted the medicines by naming them directly, using hashtags, showing images of injection pens, encouraging followers to start their own weight-loss journey and offering discounts or incentives.
ASA investigations manager Catherine Drewett said the rulings “send a clear message that affiliate marketing is not a loophole and that promoting prescription medicines through social media, whether as a brand, influencer or customer, is against the law and our rules”.
Voy and Zava responded by saying the posts were shared independently by customers.
Children exposed to ‘extreme’ products
The rulings came as Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza warned children were being routinely exposed online to products that claimed to change their bodies and appearance.
Some 78% of children said the ads had a negative impact on their self-esteem, with 41% of 13 to 17-year-olds seeing promotions for prescription-only weight loss drugs, according to her new report.
The report, “A healthy influence? Children’s exposure to appearance-changing products online”, also found 54% of children had seen exercise and diet plans and 52% had seen ads for food and drink products for weight loss.
Many had also seen ads for skin lightening products, including 46% of black children and 35% of Asian children. Many of these products are illegal in the UK because they contain toxic ingredients.
Dame Rachel is calling for an end to all advertising to children on social media by amending the Online Safety Act and changing Ofcom’s Children’s Code of Practice to explicitly protect children from body stigma content.
She has also proposed strengthening the regulation of online sales of age-restricted products.
“Extreme and potentially dangerous appearance-changing products are being normalised to children through advertising, influencer culture and online posts, despite many of these products being unsafe, illegal or strictly age-restricted,” she said.
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More than half of girls at 56% had also seen ads for cosmetic procedures such as fillers and Botox despite the treatments being illegal for under-18s, and 66% of children had seen teeth whitening products.
Some 8% of children had bought or tried non-prescription pills that claimed to aid weight loss, and 21% of children had bought or tried food or drink marketed for weight loss.
The study found black children were more likely to try these products, exercise, and diet plans than white children.
Some children reported harmful reactions after buying or trying appearance-changing products online, such as infections from eyelash products containing unknown chemicals.
The report follows survey findings by the commissioner in 2024 that found just 40% of girls and 60% of boys were happy with how they look.
