Aser Garcia Rada , 2025-06-24 14:46:00
Spain’s ministry of health has asked Novo Nordisk for clarification about a controversial obesity awareness campaign which may have broken the country’s law on promoting prescription drugs.
The ministry said the campaign’s website, which was taken down on 24 June, may constitute indirect advertising, prohibited under Spanish law which bans both direct and indirect promotion of prescription drugs. The campaign has also drawn sharp criticism for its aggressive tone and reliance on fear based messaging.1
The controversy comes amid surging global demand for GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), hailed as a breakthrough in obesity treatment but also raising concerns over medicalisation, equitable access, and long term efficacy.2
The campaign, which had the support of several medical societies, featured Novo Nordisk’s branding and adopted the visual language of content warnings. Banners …
