What’s Next for Pharmacy Advertising After the CJEU Judgment
The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 19 June 2025 in the case concerning pharmacy advertising (C-200/24) brought an end to the absolute ban and at the same time opened a new discussion on how the law should be applied during the transitional period, i.e. until the Pharmaceutical Law is amended. On the one hand, the pharmaceutical inspection authorities and the autonomous pharmacy association continue to rely on Article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law; on the other, administrative courts have consistently overturned further decisions, invoking the primacy of EU law. As a result, the market has found itself in a state of suspension—pharmacies are trying to operate under new rules, authorities are imposing fines, and courts are annulling them. It is precisely this practical “dual-track” situation that currently defines the core of the dispute over the future of pharmacy advertising in Poland.
The CJEU judgment did not automatically change the wording of article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law, and for this reason pharmaceutical inspectorates continue to adhere to the existing approach, under which the advertising ban is interpreted as absolute. Consequently, administrative proceedings are still being conducted and fines imposed for activities deemed to constitute pharmacy advertising, even if they amount merely to neutral information about the availability of services or opening hours.
Administrative courts are only beginning to address the new reality. In the first rulings, references were made to the need to incorporate the CJEU judgment into rulings, and the direction is clear—national courts, applying the principle of the primacy of EU law, will have to overturn decisions of the pharmaceutical inspectorate issued solely on the basis of the literal ban set out in Article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law. An absolute ban on pharmacy advertising can no longer be reconciled with the requirements of European law, and the practice of the authorities must be adjusted accordingly.
The CJEU judgment immediately sparked a discussion within the pharmacy community. The strongest reaction came from the sector’s autonomous association. In a statement of 27 June 2025, the Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber (Naczelna Izba Aptekarska, NIA) said that despite the CJEU judgment, Polish law still contains provisions protecting pharmacists and patients against sales pressure from pharmacy owners.
From the patients’ perspective, lifting the absolute advertising ban may mean a real improvement in access to information about pharmaceutical services. Pharmacies will be able to inform patients about vaccinations, preventive programs, or care for chronically ill patients. Until now, release of such information has been classified as prohibited advertising. The bill is now undergoing public consultation. While there will no longer be an absolute ban on advertising, advertising will still be strictly regulated. Lawmakers have proposed a broad definition of advertising, prohibited the offering of any kind of benefit, and introduced detailed rules restricting content and form, and interim provisions to close proceedings that are initiated but in which no final decision has been issued as at the date the new legislation takes effect. In practice, the bill may lead to proper organization of the rules on the information that pharmacies communicate to patients (regarding for example pharmaceutical services). At the same time, there is a shift of responsibility for interpretation of terms such as the goal of increasing sales or any kind of benefit. For this sector, this is a time to take on an active role in the consultations while at the same time making preparations to ensure customer information compliance with the new regime.
