Warning over unregulated weight loss drugs

Weight loss medication such as Wegovy is available on the NHS or privately for eligible patients

A pharmacist has said the sale of weight loss drugs from unregulated sellers is putting people at risk.

Olivier Picard, who runs pharmacies across Berkshire and is the Chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said people ineligible for the drugs privately or through the NHS were buying them online.

He said people "don't know what you're getting", and called on the government to crack down on unregulated sellers.

A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said they were working with social media companies to identify and prevent the illegal online sales.

'Image-conscious'

Research from the NPA found 35% of 16-34 year olds had attempted to access weight loss treatments in the last year, either through an online or in person pharmacy.

"We think that this is primarily driven by online social media platforms, younger people are maybe more image-conscious and therefore desperate to access a treatment for one reason or another," said Mr Picard.

But he said people were only eligible for the drugs if their BMI was over a certain number, or if they had certain comorbidities.

"What we're seeing is a lot of young people coming in for the treatment who are not eligible," he said.

"People then still have that desperation of thinking that this is the holy grail of weight loss and go and access it online."

Weight loss drugs are available for some people through pharmacies

The repercussions of this can be "horrendous", he said.

"Someone who came to my pharmacy having purchased something on a social media platform, received four syringes with some fluid in it, injected it - it was pure insulin," he said.

"Luckily for that patient, whilst she went into a hypoglycaemic coma, she had family with her, they called an ambulance, she is fine.

"But... buying from social media platforms, you don't know what you're getting and this is why we're putting out these warnings."

The MHRA spokesperson said: "Our Criminal Enforcement Unit works tirelessly with partners to prevent, detect and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices... this can lead to the removal of social media posts illegally selling medicines and, where necessary, the suspension of accounts and the taking down of websites."