Gemma Collins' weight loss Instagram ad banned for a surprising reason
It is illegal to sell prescription-only medications to the public, including on social media. The ASA confirmed that all injectable weight-loss medications were prescription only, so it's illegal to promote them.
The now banned post included Collins' video where she said, 'I'm starting this year two sizes down, thanks to Yazen's weight-loss app and medication'. She went on, 'I'm not telling anyone to go on this medication, but it is prescribed on the NHS.'
Collins shared the post on 6 January, and promoted the weight-loss service Yazen, a Swedish digital healthcare brand that provides a doctor-supervised weight-loss programme using prescription medication along with coaching.
Yazen said the post was supposed to share details about their holistic, responsible approach to weight-loss' and not just medication.
The post has now been changed to remove any reference to prescription-only medications, and Collins agreed to follow ASA guidance in future.
The ASA also banned an ad by CheqUp for weight-loss medication which read, 'No GP or pharmacy visit, just a 2-minute online consultation.'
The ASA said the rulings confirmed that advertising named weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro is banned, along with using terms and claims like 'obesity treatment jab' and 'weight-loss pen'.
The move follows increasing numbers of celebrities sharing that they use weight-loss drugs. In January of this year, Oprah Winfrey admitted to using an unnamed weight-loss drug to manage her weight and says doing so has changed her perception of thin people. Prior to taking the drug, Winfrey says she thought thin people had 'more willpower'.
'One of the things that I realised the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people had more willpower,' she said on her Oprah Winfrey podcast. 'They ate better foods. They were able to stick to it longer. They never had a potato chip.
'I realised the very first time I took the GLP-1 that they're not even thinking about it. They're eating when they're hungry and they're stopping when they're full.'
Ruchira Sharma is Acting Senior Editor at Grazia, where she writes and edits features for print and digital. From online dating culture, to cryptocurrency and online conspiracy theories, she's most interested by how online life shapes society, and co-hosts the pop culture podcast Everything Is Content.
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