New year, new you?: Compliance tips for health and wellness ads

Guidance from our clearance team for brands navigating wellness-focused ads in the new year.

The Xmas excess is behind us now and we enter that most wonderful time of the year when ads shift from encouraging indulgence and celebration to messages of wellness and self-improvement.

We’re passionate about ensuring listeners can and do trust the ads they hear on-air. We want to help advertisers remain compliant, so what does this new focus mean for us and our advice? The flurry of weight loss and health claims can mean some challenging ad copy, particularly as these claims have the potential to be harmful to vulnerable listeners’ health and self-esteem and are therefore likely to be subject to scrutiny from the regulator, the ASA. Consequently, it’s especially important that we’re on the lookout for claims and products that have the potential to do more harm than good. So, what do we consider possible pitfalls for advertisers? What are we expecting to be challenges for 2026? Which products and claims warrant our being especially vigilant?

Health supplements

In addition to the general regulation of claims for vitamins, supplements and “super foods”, we understand that the ASA has been actively monitoring digital ads that make non-compliant claims to “cure” medical conditions such as prostate issues and ADHD. We’re expecting this work to continue and anticipating that it could be extended to include other media including audio later in 2026. We work with regulators proactively to ensure that any claims for such products we approve are backed up with evidence and compliant with current regulation, so as new products and services are launched on the market, we’ll continue to monitor ASA rulings and CAP help notes and draw on the expertise and experience of our consultants to ensure that we keep making the right, informed decisions.

Food and Drink

Recent news stories and media concern about “Ultra Processed Foods” and “harmful” ingredients mean that we’re expecting to see more ads for products claiming to offer specific health benefits by virtue of not including such ingredients. We’ll approach this challenge by making sure that any claims are compliant with general scientific consensus and avoid any claims that are unsubstantiated or unsupported by robust evidence.

On another matter, we understand that the Government is currently consulting on a potential ban on the sale of “energy” drinks to under 16s. If this becomes law, the ASA may need to create new rules for content and scheduling restrictions for ads in this category. We’re keeping an eye on developments and if necessary, we’ll adapt our policy and advice to reflect these changes.

We’re aware of retailers launching nutrient dense meals aimed at those using “fat jabs”, so we’re expecting to see ads for these products soon. It’ll be interesting to see how advertisers choose to communicate the supposed benefits of these products and we’ll be on the watch for claimed nutritional or health benefits. Which leads me on to…

Weight loss medication

It’s hard to avoid press coverage of the impact of the revolutionary weight loss injectables Semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy) and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro). They’re used by millions of people in the UK and demand is increasing at the same rate that the nation’s collective waistline is diminishing. Unsurprisingly online chemists and other providers of weight loss services want to get a slice of the pie, and we know that they want to use audio to capitalise on this market. Good news, right?

Well, the challenge for us is that as these are prescription only medicines (POMS) it is illegal to advertise to consumers. The Human Medicines Regulations (HMRA) ban any ad directed to the general public “likely to lead to the use of a POM”. This means that the ban applies both to direct and indirect promotion of these products. If an ad refers generally to “weight loss treatments” but includes a call to action including a link to a website offering Mounjaro or Wegovy, is it illegal?

Providers are allowed to offer consumers HMRA licensed over the counter (OTC) drugs and lifestyle advice to support weight loss. We therefore need to decide whether an ad including a web address indirectly promotes POMs. How do we decide? What’s our policy?

1. General references to weight loss treatments in ads for services who offer Wegovy/Mounjaro are likely to be unacceptable.
2. If the advertiser offers both prescription only and over the counter weight loss drugs, the ad copy must be explicit about what is being offered. E.g. ‘Medication is Alli 60mg capsules, containing Orlistat’, where Alli/Orlistat is an over the counter drug
3. Ads can only include a web address that exclusively refers to an over the counter drug or to the advertiser’s weight loss advisory services (not including Mounjaro/Wegovy).

   OR

4. if the ad includes a call to action including a web page, that page must not link directly to the offer of prescription only drugs (these should be at least 2 clicks away).

Home Health Tests

The BMJ reported in July that many home health tests (e.g. menopause indicators, vitamin levels, cholesterol tests) are not fit for purpose. We understand that the ASA are currently focussing on Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) tests and considering whether to work with the medicines licensing authority to strengthen standards. If this happens, it would be reasonable to expect this work to be expanded to also consider home tests for other medical conditions.

Self-esteem, stereotypes and surgery

Last year the ASA explored the portrayal of older people in ads, considering the impact of perceived vulnerability and negative stereotypes, such as that of the “grumpy old man”. The ASA also highlighted research showing concern around the representation of men and men’s bodies in advertising generally so we should expect the ASA to begin to monitor potentially harmful claims related to body image and bodybuilding in social media.

The cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine industry is booming, with calls for increased scrutiny of practitioners and advertising messages, partly owing to the pressure on the NHS caused by emergency corrective procedures. We understand that the immediate focus is on better regulation of practitioners, but ad controls could be explored.

It therefore pays for us to be particularly careful to ensure that the ads we approve do not have the potential to be harmful to listeners’ self-esteem and body image and do not promote surgical intervention as a solution to these concerns.

In summary

2026 is shaping up to be an interesting year with new challenges that we’re confident we will more than meet.

Got a query on your audio ad copy or want to run an idea past us? Contact the Radiocentre Clearance team here.

Katherine is Senior Ad Clearance Consultant at Radiocentre.