AG Yost warns med spas: Stop misleading consumers about weight-loss drugs

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has sent letters to 14 medical spas throughout the state warning them to stop making false or misleading claims about their versions of popular weight-loss drugs.

The med spas are advertising custom-made variations — called compounded drugs — of semaglutide and/or tirzepatide, the active ingredients in name-brand medications Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Zepbound® and Mounjaro®. But the businesses are incorrectly suggesting that these compounded versions are approved by the Food & Drug Administration and/or just as safe and effective as the brand-name medications.

“People deserve clear and accurate information about the medications they’re putting in their bodies,” Yost said. “We’re reminding businesses that being truthful isn’t just a good business practice — it’s the law.”

Yost issued letters to the following med spas:

Beneficial Health
Docere Medical and Aesthetic Center
Glow Medispa
Jiva Med Spa
Limelight Laser and Medical Spa
Live Well Chiropractic & Medical
New Pathways Clinic
Ohio Weight Loss & Wellness Clinic
Personalized Vitality Clinic
Restore Hyper Wellness OH
Summit MedAesthetics
TrueForm Health and Wellness
Youngstown Medical Weight Loss
Zinni Family Practice.

What consumers need to know, the attorney general said, is that compounded drugs: 

• Are not FDA-approved, which means the agency hasn’t tested them for safety or effectiveness.

• Are not the same as Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Zepbound® or Mounjaro®, which are FDA-approved.
 
• Compounded versions may not meet the standards that brand names have met.

• Are not the same as generic drugs. Generic drugs are FDA-approved and, as such, are held to the same standards as brand-name versions. Compounded drugs, made by pharmacies for individual patients, are not subject to the same oversight.

While compounded drugs can serve an important medical need for patients who cannot be treated with FDA-approved medications, businesses should not make false promises or misleading claims about such drugs’ safety or efficacy.

Ohioans who believe they have been victims of deceptive advertising can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Section at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or by calling 1-800-282-0515.