People desperate to get hold of weight-loss injections are putting themselves at risk of major complications from fake jabs bought from illegal sellers, pharmacists have warned.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has urged patients to avoid buying the injections from beauty salons, unregulated sellers in-person or online, and other weight-loss patients with leftover pens.
The warnings come as demand for the drugs is expected to surge this year.
YouGov polling, commissioned by the NPA, suggests that 6 per cent of adults who are not currently using weight-loss injections are likely to use them this new year. This is the equivalent to 3.3 million people, NPA analysis suggests.
That would be more than double the estimated 1.5 million people who used the jabs monthly in 2025.
The polling data suggests that 9 per cent of 25 to 49-year-olds are likely to take weight-loss jabs in the next year.
Weight-loss jabs have soared in popularity due to their effectiveness. Studies have found after about one year of use, people taking Mounjaro had lost 20 per cent of their initial weight. People taking Wegovy had lost about 14 per cent.
However, with the jabs currently available on the NHS only for the most severely obese patients, and pharmacies having faced regular shortages, around nine in 10 people who use the jabs are believed to pay privately.
With the drugs often costing up to £350 a month, pharmacists fear many people are being lured towards the black market, where unregulated suppliers may be selling medicine that is fake, does not meet UK safety standards, or has been swapped for other medication, such as insulin.
Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, told The i Paper: “I have known patients who, for example, have not received the weight loss medication but instead have received things like insulin, which you know if injected whether you’re diabetic or not could have catastrophic consequences.
“In the case of a particular patient, this lady ended up in hospital suffering from a hypoglycaemic episode because she injected a high dose of insulin thinking it was weight-loss medication. Luckily she had family around but she still had to go to hospital. It was quite a traumatic event.”
In cases where vials are filled with insulin, patients who administer these jabs are at risk of suffering hypoglycaemic episodes, where blood sugar levels fall dangerously low, which can be fatal, the NPA added.
Demand for the prescription-only medicine is rising (Photo: Facebook)It comes as a separate Ipsos poll finds one in 10 people in Britain say they would buy weight-loss drugs from platforms such as Facebook and TikTok if they could not get a prescription from their doctor or pharmacy.
The i Paper has previously revealed how adverts for fake Ozempic and Wegovy jabs were being openly shared on Facebook and TikTok. Both platforms say they remove such content when found.
A number of people who have suffered complications after using fake jabs have shared their experiences on social media. In one Facebook post seen by The i Paper, a woman shares how after taking Mounjaro she is having to have her gallbladder removed.
In the post, which she shared alongside before-and-after weight-loss images, she encourages readers to do their research before taking the medication.
Another woman shared on Facebook how she began feeling “really low in mood” and “nasty and depressed with no motivation” after initially taking what she believed to be Mounjaro obtained from an online beauty company.
She revealed she had to mix the vials at home herself, which is not standard practice with approved products.
Picard said gthat without proper consultation, appropriate checks, wraparound care and dosage being monitored by an approved healthcare professional, such complications can occur.
He added that he knew of patients who had been offered the injections by personal trainers while at the gym, and from other patients with leftover pens.
Picard said: “You wouldn’t get your eye drops for glaucoma or your heart medication from your personal trainer… you wouldn’t get the prescription from them, so why would you get your weight-loss medication from a personal trainer, a beauty salon or any other place but a regulated pharmacy?”
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that giving the medication to millions could help “finally defeat obesity”, but he has pledged to stop people being “priced out” of accessing the jabs.
Dr Claire Fuller, national medical director at NHS England, said people hoping to lose weight as a new year’s resolution “shouldn’t be tempted by quick fixes advertised online”.
“We are concerned about reports of unverified sellers and individuals promoting weight-loss injections or diet aids on social media, offering medicines without any clinical oversight, medical checks or follow-up care,” she said.
Tips on avoiding unsafe weight-loss jabs
Patients can check to see if an online pharmacy is legitimate by looking to see if it is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Olivier Picard, of the National Pharmacy Association, said the best piece of advice is to have a consultation with a trained healthcare professional who can prescribe the injections in an official and regulated manner.
He added: “You shouldn’t be in a position to buy months at the time because you don’t know how you’re going to react to the medication, you don’t know when it’s going to be appropriate to increase the dose and that may vary from patient to patient.”
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