As part of a wider crackdown on unethical weight loss medication advertisements, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) have banned three advertisements for irresponsibly exploiting insecurities around body image to promote weight loss medications.
In September 2025, the ASA updated its enforcement notice on prescription-only medications (POMs), specifically referring to weight loss medications. The enforcement ban includes any advertisements mentioning weight loss POMs, as well as prohibiting any descriptions or imagery that is likely to be recognisable by consumers as a POM.
Exploiting new mothers by promoting weight-loss POMs
The ASA has banned an ad from MedExpress for promoting weight loss POMs. The ASA said the social media ad suggested women should prioritise losing weight soon after giving birth.
MedExpress's Instagram advert featured a video of a woman, and the caption read: "I wish I knew sooner that I could lose post-baby weight with a medicated weight loss treatment from MedExpress."
In response to the ban, the ASA said it found this ad “encouraged new mothers to prioritise losing weight by using weight-loss medication, exploited their insecurities about body image and perpetuated pressures for them to conform to body image stereotypes.” The ASA also understands that weight-loss medications carry warnings for those who are breastfeeding.
The ASA investigated the campaign after a complainant expressed concerns about the ad exploiting new mothers’ insecurities surrounding their body image.
The ASA concluded that the ad breached the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social Responsibility) and 4.9 (Harm and Offence). Ruling that the ad must not appear again in the banned form.
Promoting prescription-only medicines to the general public
The second ad was investigated to determine whether the campaign breached the CAP code because it promoted prescription-only medicines to the general public.
The ASA investigated the company, The Skinnyjab and a series of video ads featuring celebrity weight-loss guru Caroline Balazs. In the videos, Caroline stated that “But what I have discovered, certainly with Mounjaro, is that it has completely changed my life” and “I talk to my patients every day, and it’s across the board. They are feeling happier, healthier, they’re living their best lives, this can’t be wrong.”
The ASA assessed whether the social posts followed the guidelines of the CAP code, seeking advice from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which expressed concerns surrounding whether the term “skinny jab” was likely to promote consumers requesting prescription-only medicines.
The ASA came to the conclusion that The Skinnyjab’s campaigns breached the CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
The third ruling banned an ad from weight loss medication and coaching company Chequp.
The paid-for Facebook ad was investigated after a complainant challenged whether the campaign breached regulation because it promoted weight loss POMs, suggesting that having a larger body was undesirable.
The ASA determined that the advertisement breached CAP Code (Edition 12), rule 12.12, which covers medicines, medical devices, health-related products, and beauty products, and instructed the company not to run the ad again in its current form.
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