Fines for “advertising” slimming drugs triggered by competitor
An investigation into Dutch media coverage of weight loss drugs that led to several outlets being fined for breaching advertising...
A probe into Dutch media's coverage of weight loss drugs resulted in fines for outlets that wrote too positively about treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. The investigation began after a competitor, Goodlife, which makes Mysimba, complained to the health inspectorate IGJ. The health regulator fined several newspapers, including NRC, the Telegraaf, the Volkskrant, and AD, in August.
Goodlife's lawyer argued the articles were unbalanced due to the "complete absence of references to Mysimba." The Dutch Medicines Act, passed in 1992, prohibits prescription drug advertising by commercial entities. NRC deputy editor Lucas Brouwers expressed concern over the media being involved in a "commercial battle" through the inspectorate.
Volkskrant's editor, Pieter Klok, warned that fined fines would make it difficult for health reporters to cover medical treatment advancements. Goodlife's medical director, Maarten Kok, said the media's reporting on obesity treatments painted an "unbalanced and incomplete picture." DPG Media and Mediahuis, the newspaper owners, are appealing the fines, and Goodlife also sought to stop a TV show's series on the effects of medicines like Ozempic.
The series threatened an injunction against the program after a reporter rejected the company's demand to include Mysimba.
Written by urgent.news from DutchNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
