Fake weight-loss jabs warning with injections containing insulin ‘risking lives’

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1. 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.

   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](https://inews.co.uk/news/tiktok-meta-slammed-crack-down-fake-ozempic-jabs-sold-online-2561918?ico=in-line_link). Both platforms say they remove such content when found.

2. People want to use them. Stop this silliness of only letting the fattest people have access and the problem goes away.

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