Written by Cong Cao, MPharm, UK Registered Pharmacist (GPhC) · 5 minute read
Online pharmacies are under closer scrutiny than ever. Since 2025, the MHRA, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) have worked together on online advertising, with weight loss medicines a particular focus. Many pharmacies have had to change their wording and in some cases, whole landing pages.
This guide explains the rules I work to when writing for online pharmacies. It is a practical overview rather than legal advice, so check anything specific with your superintendent pharmacist or a regulatory adviser.
Who sets the rules
Several sets of rules apply at once, and they overlap:
The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 are the law. Part 14 covers advertising, including the ban on advertising prescription-only medicines to the public.
The MHRA enforces that law and explains it in the Blue Guide, its guidance on advertising and promoting medicines.
The ASA applies the CAP Code to non-broadcast advertising, including paid search, social media and marketing claims on your own website. Section 12 covers medicines.
The GPhC sets standards for registered pharmacies. Its guidance for pharmacies providing services at a distance was strengthened in February 2025.
You may also hear about the ABPI Code of Practice. It applies to pharmaceutical companies promoting their medicines, so it does not usually govern pharmacy websites. It does shape materials written for healthcare professionals, which is worth knowing if you work with manufacturers.
Know your medicine's legal category
Everything starts with the legal category of the medicine. It is printed on the outer packaging, for example "P" or "POM", and listed on each product's page on the electronic medicines compendium (emc).
| Category | Where it can be sold | Can it be advertised to the public? |
|---|---|---|
| General sales list (GSL) | Pharmacies and other shops | Yes, within its licence |
| Pharmacy (P) | Pharmacies, with a pharmacist's supervision | Yes, within its licence |
| Prescription-only (POM) | Pharmacies, with a valid prescription | No |
Some medicines come in more than one category depending on strength or pack size. Omeprazole, for example, is available without a prescription in small packs for short-term heartburn relief, but is prescription-only for longer-term use and other conditions. Check which version you are writing about before you start.
The key rule: prescription-only medicines
Prescription-only medicines (POMs) cannot be advertised to the public. CAP Code rule 12.12 says the same thing for ads. This is the rule pharmacies break most often, usually without meaning to.
The ASA takes a broad view of what counts as advertising a POM. A medicine does not have to be named. In its 2025 rulings on weight loss ads, the ASA found that ads promoted POMs through phrases such as "weight-loss injection" or "GLP-1", through images of injection pens and through landing pages that promoted POMs, even when the ad itself did not.
What is generally acceptable is promoting a consultation for a condition, such as a weight management consultation, as long as the ad does not refer to a POM directly or indirectly.
Social media and influencers
Social media is where most problems start. A post does not need to be a paid ad to count as advertising. The ASA considers posts, images and hashtags on a pharmacy's own accounts, and content from influencers paid or gifted by the pharmacy. A short video showing an injection pen, or a hashtag naming a weight loss medicine, can be enough to breach the rules.
The safest approach is to keep social media focused on conditions, healthy lifestyle advice and your consultation service - never on a named or implied POM.
What you can say on a POM product page
Pharmacies that supply POMs online still need pages explaining them. The difference is between information and promotion. On your own website, information about a POM should be:
Factual and balanced, consistent with the SmPC
Free of promotional language, price offers or claims that it is better than alternatives
Kept off the homepage, where the ASA treats content as advertising
In practice, that means explaining what the medicine is used for, how it works, how it is taken and its side effects, while leaving the decision to the prescriber.
The consultation journey matters too
The GPhC's February 2025 guidance focuses on how people move from your website to a prescription. It covers people being able to select a preferred prescription medicine before a consultation, verifying the information people give in online questionnaires and making sure people can talk with the prescriber in both directions.
This affects how pages are written. A POM page that ends with "Add to basket" sends a very different message from one that ends with "Start your consultation". The wording should make clear that a prescriber decides whether a medicine is suitable.
Pharmacy and general sale medicines
Pharmacy (P) and general sales list (GSL) medicines can be advertised to the public, but with conditions. Claims must stay within the medicine's licence (CAP Code rule 12.11), so a hay fever tablet cannot be promoted for conditions it is not licensed to treat. Ads should not use health professionals or celebrities to endorse a medicine (rule 12.18).
Avoid absolute claims such as "guaranteed relief" or "completely safe". Every medicine has side effects and not everyone responds, so wording like "can help relieve" is both safer and more honest.
Common mistakes I see
| Wording that causes problems | Safer alternative |
|---|---|
| "Buy weight loss injections online" | "Start a weight management consultation" |
| "Our most effective treatment" | "Your prescriber will recommend a suitable option" |
| Images of injection pens on ads or the homepage | Images of people, consultations or lifestyle |
| "Guaranteed results" | "Results vary from person to person" |
| Price promotions such as "20% off" linked to a POM | No price promotions linked to a POM |
What happens if you get it wrong
ASA rulings are published on its website with the company named, and they are often picked up by the pharmacy press. The ASA can ask search engines and social platforms to remove non-compliant ads. The MHRA can take its own enforcement action under the Human Medicines Regulations, and the GPhC can look at advertising as part of its inspections of registered pharmacies.
Beyond the formal action, a ruling can damage patient trust. If you own or are working as part of a business built on reliable, professional care, the reputation damage is the bigger cost.
A compliance checklist before you publish
Legal category of the medicine checked
No POM named, implied or images shown in ads, social posts or on the homepage
POM pages are factual and balanced, with no promotional claims
POM pages lead to a consultation rather than straight to a basket
P and GSL claims stay within the product licence
No absolute claims about safety or results
Landing pages are checked as carefully as the ads that link to them
Content is reviewed by a pharmacist before going live
Need compliant content?
I write product pages and health content for UK online pharmacies with these rules built in from the first draft. You can see examples in my portfolio or request a quote on my services page.
This article is general guidance based on publicly available regulatory information and is not legal advice.
References
The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, Part 14 (Advertising). legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1916/contents
MHRA: The Blue Guide, advertising and promotion of medicines in the UK. gov.uk/government/publications/blue-guide-advertising-and-promoting-medicines
ASA and CAP: Healthcare, prescription-only medicines. asa.org.uk/advice-online/healthcare-prescription-only-medicine.html
ASA: Updated enforcement notice issued on weight loss prescription medicine ads (September 2025). asa.org.uk/news/updated-enforcement-notice-issued-on-weight-loss-prescription-medicine-ads.html
GPhC: Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet (February 2025). assets.pharmacyregulation.org/files/2025-02/gphc-guidance-registered-pharmacies-providing-pharmacy-services-distance-february-2025.pdf