The UK advertising watchdog has banned a series of social media posts that shared discount codes and referral links for online pharmacies and prescribers selling prescription-only weight-loss injections, including Wegovy and Mounjaro.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints about 13 posts that promoted services linked to Voy, Zava, MedExpress and UK Meds Direct, after finding they effectively advertised prescription medicines to the general public.
The ASA said the posts went beyond general discussion and crossed into promotion by using brand names and hashtags, showing injection-pen imagery, and encouraging followers to begin a weight-loss “journey” – while offering money-off incentives such as percentage discounts or voucher codes.
Examples included before-and-after style content and invitations to message the poster to receive a discount code.
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A key issue was the use of affiliate or referral mechanics, where members of the public share codes or links and may receive a benefit if someone else signs up.
The ASA warned that affiliate marketing does not sidestep the rules: if a post functions as an advert, both the individual poster and the business can be held responsible, depending on the level of involvement and control.
In Voy’s case, the ASA found the company operated a “refer a friend” scheme and had control over the discount codes, meaning it was expected to set and enforce clear restrictions on how those codes were promoted.
The ASA instructed that the adverts must not appear again and told social media users not to promote prescription-only medicines to the public.
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Other posts promoting Mounjaro using discount codes linked to Zava were also banned.
Zava argued the users were acting independently and that it had no commercial relationship with them.
MedExpress said it had compliance processes for referral activity, but that the individuals behind the posts did not follow its guidance or the advertising rules.
UK Meds Direct said the content related to a now-discontinued affiliate programme and that it asked influencers to remove the posts once the ASA investigation was raised.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also reiterated the risk: prescription-only weight-loss medicines require an appropriate clinical assessment and should not be marketed through social media incentives that can undermine safeguards designed to protect patients.
