Search advertising for prescription medicines in Poland

Public advertising of prescription medicines is prohibited

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Do not plan a public prescription-medicine promotion in this channel. A consented mailing or a social-media age gate does not turn recipients into authorised healthcare professionals.

The statutory vaccination exception needs a separate assessment against the GIS vaccination communication. Professional promotion requires a genuinely restricted route and its own information requirements.

Sources: Pharmaceutical Law — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 612 · Article 57; advertising regulation section 12

First decide whether the message is medicine advertising

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Promotion intended to increase prescribing, supply, sale or consumption falls within the medicine-advertising regime. Unbranded disease education is excluded only if it makes no even indirect reference to medicines. Advertising must be conducted by, or commissioned by, the marketing-authorisation holder.

Sources: Pharmaceutical Law — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 612 · Articles 52 and 60

Use authorised, balanced medicine information

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Do not advertise unauthorised medicines or claims inconsistent with the SmPC. Public advertising cannot target children or use celebrity, scientist or medical/pharmacy-professional presentation or recommendations. No guaranteed cure, absence-of-side-effects or natural-means-safe claims; no purchasing rewards.

Sources: Pharmaceutical Law — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 612; GIF — Advertising medicinal products · Articles 53, 55–57

Professional promotion is a separate restricted route

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Applies when: The recipients are eligible professionals and distribution is genuinely restricted.

If this channel is genuinely restricted to eligible professionals, use the professional-advertising regime, including SmPC-based information, prescribing category, relevant reimbursement information and dated supporting documentation. Do not make the material publicly accessible merely by labelling it professional.

Since 22 July 2026, section 12(4a) allows the specified professional information to be supplied electronically or through a QR/Data Matrix code or web address pointing to the responsible advertiser's site/platform. This is not an exemption for public consumer advertisements.

Sources: Medicine advertising regulation — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023 item 1648; Medicine advertising amendment — Dz.U. 2026 item 910 · Section 12, including new paragraph 4a

Make the overall message truthful and commercially identifiable

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Misleading claims, material omissions, hidden commercial intent and aggressive consumer marketing are prohibited. Assess visuals, comparisons, qualifications and the impression on vulnerable consumers. Do not falsely claim that a product cures illness.

Editorial control: retain substantiation before publication, remove fabricated urgency or authority badges, and check that qualifications do not contradict the headline. Paying to publish apparently independent advice must not conceal its commercial nature.

Sources: Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023 item 845 · Articles 4–9; Article 7 hidden advertising and false cure claims

Check price reductions only after establishing that promotion is lawful

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Where an advertisement announces a reduction for a good or service, state the relevant lowest price from the preceding 30 days alongside the reduced price. For a shorter selling history, use the lowest price since sales began; special rules apply to rapidly perishable goods.

This consumer-information rule does not permit a discount or purchasing incentive prohibited by medicine or service rules. As an editorial check, make the total scope and extra charges clear.

Sources: UOKiK — Information about price reductions · Price Information Act Article 4 as explained by UOKiK

Keep reviews genuine and explain verification

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Do not publish, commission or distort false consumer recommendations. If making consumer reviews available, explain whether and how their origin is verified. Do not claim authentic-user verification without reasonable, proportionate checks.

Selecting a patient or customer story for advertising also requires checking the sector's claims and endorsement restrictions. A genuine testimonial can still contain an unlawful health claim.

Sources: UOKiK — False reviews? Stop!; Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023 item 845 · Unfair-practices Act Articles 6–7; UOKiK reviews guidance

Keep health data out of routine advertising workflows

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Establish a lawful processing basis, transparency and purpose limits. Health/genetic data also require a valid Article 9 condition; a treatment relationship does not automatically justify marketing reuse. Honour direct-marketing objections and withdrawable consent.

Editorial safeguard: keep symptoms, diagnoses, test results and appointment details out of advertising pixels, URLs, audience uploads and creator briefs unless a separately assessed lawful arrangement permits the processing.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 — General Data Protection Regulation · Articles 5–7, 9, 13–14 and 21

Assess cookies, pixels and device access separately

Legal requirement — paraphrased

Prior information and consent are required for terminal storage/access unless a statutory exception applies, such as what is necessary for transmission or a service requested by the user. Ordinary advertising tracking should not be treated as necessary merely because it funds the website.

As an implementation control, test the consent mechanism before loading advertising tags and keep the privacy-processing assessment separate from the cookie-consent check.

Sources: Electronic Communications Law — Dz.U. 2024 item 1221 · Article 399

Check the search advertisement independently of its destination

Editorial recommendation

Short copy, extensions and dynamically generated assets can still make product or medical claims. A landing page is not a reliable substitute for information that must appear in the ad itself. If the chosen format cannot accommodate required content, choose another lawful format.

Review keywords, visible text and destination together. As an editorial safeguard, disable uncontrolled claim generation and prevent dynamic insertion from creating medicine names, unsupported diagnoses or outcome promises.

Sources: Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023 item 845; Medicine advertising regulation — consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023 item 1648; Medical-device advertising regulation — Dz.U. 2023 item 817 · Overall impression and sector advertising content requirements

Keep one campaign evidence and approval record

Editorial recommendation

Recommended workflow: record the exact offer and legal classification, advertiser, selected channel and creative formats; list permitted claims and evidence; review the Polish execution and destination; record sign-off, publication and corrections.

Keep the source date with the rule. Recheck legislation flagged as changing, especially pharmacy advertising. Preserve statutory archive periods where they apply; this suggested general workflow does not create a universal retention period.

Sources: URPL — Advertising medical devices; Sejm official API — Pharmacy advertising amendment, process 3002 · Specific retention and legislative-watch sources; workflow is editorial