The rules of promoting weight loss jabs as Gemma Collins' Instagram post banned
TV personality Gemma Collins has been forced to remove a post from her Instagram profile where she had recommended a weight loss jab and app back in January. It comes as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) cracks down on the promotion of prescription-only weight loss medication.
The star had said in her now-deleted post: "I'm starting this year two sizes down, thanks to Yazen's weight loss app and medication... I'm not telling anyone to go on this medication, but it is prescribed on the NHS."
Yazen, the company Collins was promoting, is a Swedish digital healthcare brand. Users receive a doctor-supervised weight-loss programme that combines prescription medications with lifestyle coaching.
Although Collins had not named a specific weight loss drug or specifically told people to take it, the ASA deemed the post as a breach of their rules that make the promotion of prescription weight loss medication illegal, reports the BBC.
Eight other adverts were banned in this recent ASA crackdown.
Weight loss jabs have soared in popularity in the UK recently, with around 1.5 million Brits currently taking them after the recent roll out of Mounjaro on the NHS. But what are the rules and regulations of promoting them?
Here's everything you need to know about the ASA's rules for advertising weight loss meds and why Gemma Collins' post was banned.
The ASA's rules for promoting weight loss medication
Gemma Collins' post, as well as the eight other weight loss adverts that are now banned, were found by the ASA to breach the following set of rules.
Prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public
Any medication that is prescription-only, including weight loss jabs, cannot be advertised via leaflets, press ads, posters or even sponsored ads.
This rule extends to social media posts, such as the one posted by Gemma Collins.
Advertisers cannot claim customers can achieve a specific rate of weight loss
Gemma had claimed that she was 'two sizes down' thanks to the weight loss jabs.
This rule states that promotional content for weight loss meds may not claim that people will lose a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time.
The ASA ruled against an ad by Skinny Revolution Ltd in 2020 because it included the claim 'LOSE OVER A FULL STONE IN JUST 2-4 WEEKS".
Adverts can't feature health professionals or celebrities
While Gemma's post did not feature a health professional, she herself is a celebrity who was deliberately promoting the weight loss drugs.
This isn't the first time Collins has run into trouble with the ASA, as back in 2020 she posted similar social media posts that 'made direct and indirect references to a prescription-only weight loss product'
The ASA considered this to be a prohibited endorsement of a medicine by a celebrity.
Don't use before and after photographs
Using before and after photographs to promote a weight loss product is likely to be picked up by the ASA as an advertising claim.
The use of before and after images may only be acceptable if they are clearly attributed to a product that is not prescription-only.
The eight other adverts banned by the ASA would have breached one or more of these rules, unjustly promoting prescription-only weight loss jabs to the public.
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