Publication date: March 11, 2026
Since January 1, 2012, a complete ban on advertising pharmacies and pharmacy outlets has been in effect in Poland. Information limited to the location of a pharmacy or pharmacy outlet and its opening hours is not considered advertising. Consequently, this ban covers not only advertising the pharmacy itself but also advertising its activities. This regulation was introduced in Article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law Act.
The justification for banning advertising of pharmacies and pharmacy outlets was the legislature’s assumption that pharmacies play a special role in the public health system, and therefore their operation should not be subject to mechanisms specific to the consumer goods market. It was argued that pharmacy advertising could lead to, among other things, excessive consumption of medicinal products, a weakening of the principles of rational pharmacotherapy, and an undesirable influence of economic factors on patient decisions.
The ban on advertising pharmacies is general and applies to all entities, not just pharmacies and pharmacy outlets. It covers anyone advertising a pharmacy or its business, including third parties such as press publishers. Consequently, a decision to cease advertising may be addressed to the publisher of the advertising material, even if the pharmacy did not commission it.
Some in the pharmaceutical community consider the introduction of a ban on pharmacy advertising a desirable solution, viewing it as a significant step toward restoring pharmacies to their proper role in the healthcare system. Proponents of strict regulation argue that advertising practices used before 2012 were becoming increasingly intense and aggressive, contradicting the nature and function of pharmacies. They also point out that pharmacies’ marketing activities may have led to artificially increasing the consumption of medicinal products.
Critics of the ban
Critics of the current wording of Article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law take a different view, accusing this regulation of being excessively broad in scope. In their view, the ban on pharmacy advertising constitutes an unjustified restriction on the constitutional freedom of economic activity and is inconsistent with European Union law as a means of restricting the freedom of establishment and the provision of services in a manner disproportionate to the intended purpose. Furthermore, the lack of a legal definition of pharmacy advertising, analogous to the definition of medicinal product advertising, is significant. Determining the meaning of this concept is left to the judicial practice of pharmaceutical inspection bodies and administrative courts, which, during the initial period of the regulation’s validity, led to divergent interpretations, particularly damaging to businesses. Currently, in light of established case law, pharmacy advertising is broadly understood as any activity that may encourage customers to purchase goods or use services.
Additionally, it is argued that the arguments underlying the introduction of an absolute ban on pharmacy advertising are not entirely convincing in the context of the permissibility and prevalence of advertising of medicinal products available in pharmacies in the mass media. The doctrine also expresses the view that the legislator’s actual intention may have been to limit intra-industry competition in the area of pharmacy advertising and the activities they conduct, as indicated by public statements by representatives of the pharmaceutical self-government.
Enforcement of the ban and case law
Enforcement of the pharmacy advertising ban was entrusted to provincial pharmaceutical inspectors, who, in practice, developed a broad interpretation of the term “advertising.” This encompasses not only classic promotional activities but also various forms of informational communication. In particular, information about price reductions, loyalty programs, or preventive campaigns was deemed prohibited. Violation of this ban can result in an administrative fine of up to PLN 50,000 and an administrative decision ordering the cessation of advertising (Article 94a and Article 129b, Section 1 of the Pharmaceutical Law).
In its judgment of 20 July 2017, file reference II GSK 2964/15, the Supreme Administrative Court found that “The basic element allowing for the conclusion that there has been a violation of the ban on advertising a pharmacy or its activities is the intention to attract potential customers to purchase a medicinal product or medicinal product in a specific pharmacy, increase the consumption of medicinal products, and thus increase the turnover of that pharmacy.” In its judgment of 29 September 2017 (file reference II GSK 3346/15), the Supreme Administrative Court found that there had been a violation of information regarding the fulfillment of prescriptions and the possibility of purchasing cheaper equivalents of medicinal products, and the prominence of the word “cheaper” through the use of bold font in relation to the remaining content gave the message a promotional nature.
The total ban on advertising pharmacies is still in force in Poland, even though from the moment it was introduced it raised significant doubts as to whether such interference with the constitutionally protected freedom of economic activity and the principle of proportionality should be permitted.
Complaint to the European Commission and CJEU ruling
Some pharmacy businesses questioned the blanket nature of the advertising ban, filing a complaint with the European Commission. They believed the regulation violated European Union law, particularly by introducing disproportionate restrictions on commercial communications. In response to these allegations, in January 2019 , the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Polish government, citing a violation of regulations governing the use of commercial information as part of an information society service provided by regulated professions, as well as a violation of the principles of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services.
In the absence of legislative action on the Polish side, the European Commission filed a complaint against Poland with the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Court upheld the complaint in its entirety, finding that Poland had failed to fulfill its obligations under EU law.
The CJEU emphasized that while Member States have the authority to regulate pharmacy advertising to protect public health, they cannot impose an absolute ban on it. In particular, it pointed out that, with respect to online advertising, national regulations cannot exclude the use of information society services. However, in the case of non-electronic advertising, Polish regulations were deemed excessively restrictive and insufficiently justified by the objective of protecting public health.
Furthermore, the Court noted that European Union law encourages Member States to define the scope of data that may be transferred as part of commercial communications, while respecting the rules of regulated professions. While these rules may define the content and form of commercial communications, they cannot lead to the introduction of a general and complete ban on such communications. Consequently, the CJEU called on Poland to immediately adapt its national legislation to the requirements of European Union law.
In December 2025, the Ministry of Health published a draft amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law, which proposes abandoning the current broad ban on advertising by pharmacies and pharmacy outlets in favor of regulations specifying detailed rules for permissible advertising by these entities. However, the public consultation process and further processing of the bill have been significantly extended. The European Commission has set Poland a two-month deadline to respond, with failure to do so potentially resulting in a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union, along with a request for financial sanctions. Given that the Ministry of Health has not yet published the results of the public consultation, the realistic entry into force of the new regulations is estimated at the end of the first quarter of this year at the earliest. Both the Ministry of Health and the pharmacists’ self-government have publicly commented on the need and willingness to introduce changes to the current model for regulating pharmacy advertising.
The draft amendment also provides for detailed restrictions on the content and form of advertising by pharmacies and pharmacy outlets. According to the proposed regulations, advertising may not: