In Business news

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

Online pharmacy Phlo has had a complaint against it upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority after the watchdog found a Facebook ad promoted prescription weight loss medicines to the public.

The ad, which was paid for by supermarket chain Morrisons and was seen on February 2, 2026, promoted Phlo’s weight loss service with the words: “Why pay more for weight loss? Morrisons Clinic Together with phlo £79. Market average weight loss service £103”

Phlo and Morrisons argued that the ad promoted a service rather than medicines, and that it clicked through to a landing page that offered the options ‘Get started’ and ‘I’d like to switch treatments,’ the latter being reached through an “active user choice”.

However, the ASA said: “We considered this initial page was not the landing page, rather a filtering page that directed consumers to a landing page akin to a home page, based on their selection.”

The “landing page” accessed via the ‘Get started’ option included a reference to the availability of an “at-home, self-injectable pen designed to aid weight loss when injected once-weekly and used consistently”.

It also included an image of an order confirmation displayed on a phone which included the text “Treatment: Mounjaro KwikPen 5mg. 1 pre-filled disposable injection supply”.

The landing page accessed via the ‘switch treatments’ option offered users a comparison between Mounjaro and Wegovy.

The ASA stated:” We considered that consumers who had clicked on either option on the filtering page from the ad (“Get started” or “I’d like to switch treatments”) were actively presented with POMs, as opposed to information about particular conditions and diseases.

“We therefore considered that because the landing pages linked to from the ad, via a filtering page, referenced POMs, the ad promoted POMs to the public.”

The ASA found a breach of the CAP code that applies to medicines and medical devices, and warned Phlo and Morrisons “not to promote POMs to the public in future”.

Related: ASA upholds complaint against ‘misleading’ Boots Black Friday promotion