A recent Instagram post by television personality Gemma Collins, promoting a weight-loss drug and associated app, has been officially banned.
The post featured Ms. Collins stating: “I’m starting this year two sizes down, thanks to Yazen’s weight loss app and medication.”
Advertising prescription-only weight-loss drugs is illegal, and Ms. Collins’ advertisement was among nine recently prohibited following a crackdown by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
During the ASA’s investigation, Ms. Collins acknowledged that her posts had promoted the Yazen weight-loss service and app, and committed to adhering to advertising guidelines in the future.
Yazen, a Swedish digital healthcare company, provides a doctor-supervised weight-loss program combining prescription medications with lifestyle coaching.
Ms. Collins’ video advertisement for the brand was posted to her Instagram account on January 6th of this year.
In the now-banned advertisement, Ms. Collins described the benefits she experienced with Yazen, stating, “I’m not telling anyone to go on this medication, but it is prescribed on the NHS.”
While the advertisement did not explicitly name a specific weight-loss medication, the ASA determined that it contained references that violated its advertising code.
The ASA consulted with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which expressed concern that consumers would likely be prompted to request a prescription weight-loss medication as a result of the advertisement.
Consequently, the advertisement was found to be promoting prescription-only medications to the public, a violation of ASA regulations.
Eight other advertisements were also banned for similarly promoting prescription-only weight-loss medications to the public.
The ASA has mandated that none of these advertisements may appear again in their current form.