I’m starting a petition calling on Brighton & Hove to stop weight-loss drug advertising on our buses and public transport spaces.

The picture above is the advert Voy plastered across buses in Brighton & Hove and on TfL transport. The slogan “The weight is over” implies that people have been waiting their entire lives to lose weight — and that losing weight is something they should be striving towards.

That is an incredibly harmful message to be spreading across our city.

Weight-loss drug advertising like this is becoming an unavoidable part of our everyday environment. You don't have to seek it out, click on it or choose to engage with it — it's simply there, repeatedly placed in front of us as we go about our daily lives.

Weight-loss medications can be beneficial for some people, but that doesn't mean we should accept their constant commercial promotion to the entire population, including children and young people, in spaces that people cannot simply opt out of.

This isn't about stopping people from accessing medication when it is medically appropriate. It's about questioning whether weight-loss advertising belongs in the public spaces we all share, and creating an environment that is safer and more supportive of body image in a diverse and open city like Brighton & Hove.

Public transport should be somewhere we can travel without being constantly sold the idea that our bodies need changing.

If you agree, please sign the petition and share it. The more people who speak up, the harder it is to ignore. Once 1,000 signatures are collected, I will take this petition directly to Brighton & Hove City Council and ask them to properly consider whether weight-loss drug advertising belongs on our buses and in our public spaces. I’ll approach councillors, raise the issue with the relevant people at the Council, and ask for a clear response on what can actually be done.