TV advertisement for joinvoy.com and Orlos (orlistat) capsules by Menwell Ltd - February 2024
Published 4 April 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advertising-investigations-february-2024/tv-advertisement-for-joinvoycom-and-orlos-orlistat-capsules-by-menwell-ltd-february-2024
A member of the public complained about a TV advertisement for a weight-loss website called joinvoy.com, which was alleged to have aired on E4 at around 18:45 h on 12 January 2024. The advertisement presented a specific medicinal product to viewers—Orlos (orlistat) 60 mg hard capsules as identified by inclusion of the statutory information required for advertisement of a medicinal product to the public—and directed viewers to the above website for more information. Orlos is an over-the-counter medicine (P [Pharmacy] legal status) indicated for weight loss in eligible adults who are overweight.
The complainant alleged that the TV advertisement was disguised promotion to the public of Prescription-Only Medicines (POMs) because they could find no mention of Orlos on the website but found only information about POMs indicated for weight loss. The promotion of a POM to the public is prohibited in the UK.
MHRA contacted Menwell Ltd. In their response to the complaint and in response to specific questions from MHRA about the publication on the website of information about specific medicinal products, the information provided by Menwell Ltd about where consumers might find out more about orlistat or Orlos did not reconcile with the information that had previously been seen and reviewed by MHRA during a previous investigation and scrutiny exercise of the advertiser’s website in January 2024, following a separate complaint in December 2023 regarding promotion of POMs.
We therefore agreed with the complainant that, at the time of broadcast, any information that may have been available on the website (as stated by the advertiser) about either Orlos (orlistat) capsules or orlistat more generally was not sufficiently discoverable over that of the apparent information that was available to the public about specific POMs that may be supplied following weight-loss consultation. The complaint was therefore upheld.
While the TV advertisement itself was not believed to be in breach of the advertising Regulations, and while the MHRA’s interpretation of the law does not prevent consumers or patients accessing factual and balanced information about POMs to support their understanding during consultations, MHRA’s view in this case was to agree with the complainant that the TV advertisement appeared to drive consumers to the website, at which point information about the specific medicinal product advertised did not appear to be discoverable over that of information about potential weight-loss POMs that may be supplied following an online consultation. We considered that a consumer viewing the TV advertisement would not have been trying to access information about POMs per se.
In their response, Menwell Ltd said that in light of the complaint they had taken the opportunity to further review their website to ensure it presented a balanced overview of potential treatment options for weight loss that they may supply following a consultation.