{"id":1088535,"date":"2026-07-14T11:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1088535\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:17:25","slug":"sa-doctors-caution-against-use-of-unauthorised-weight-loss-drug-retatrutide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1088535\/","title":{"rendered":"SA doctors caution against use of unauthorised weight-loss drug retatrutide"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the never-ending race for skinny, it seems a thriving black market in illegal weight-loss jabs has developed in South Africa.<\/p>\n

One of the drugs people are trying to get their hands on is retatrutide.<\/p>\n

The drug is in clinical trials as a weight-loss treatment. It has not yet been approved by regulatory bodies such as the FDA in the US or the <\/strong>South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr Tracy Nelwamondo is a GP with a special interest in doctor-led weight management. She says the popularity of products like these shows how many people are searching for quick solutions to obesity.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Although it is expected to be given the green light next year, retatrutide is not yet approved for commercial sale or human use anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem that we face now is that it is not the right time. The medicine has just gone through its phase three trials. If you are not enrolled, you are not supposed to be using it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But according to a recent Mail and Guardian<\/a> article, it is already being bought and injected in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Why? Early-stage clinical trials of the drug produced remarkable weight-loss results, even greater than those of similar drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest concern is not only whether the drug works but whether it is safe, said Nelwamondo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how the medicines interact with the human body. We need guidance. We need to know how the medicines work, how they interact with other medicines that a person can be taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite not being approved for sale or use, according to the Mail and Guardian piece, retatrutide is being promoted widely on social media and in the health and wellness space, including gyms.<\/p>\n

Nelwamondo said the concern is that buyers may not know what they are actually injecting into their bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not even talking about whether the medicine works or not. We are asking what else is in the medicine that can actually just put your health at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how are these illegal products reaching consumers?<\/p>\n

It’s reported that while some people claim to access them through personal contacts, others are buying them through online sellers and informal suppliers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are getting it through a friend who knows a friend. I\u2019ve had a lot of people at gyms getting access to it,” said Nelwamondo.<\/p>\n

Never miss a major story. Get breaking news and the latest developments from South Africa and beyond as they happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the never-ending race for skinny, it seems a thriving black market in illegal weight-loss jabs has developed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4315],"tags":[32732,129970,129971,32733,32734,105,1501,4326,12,5684,129972,32717,32718,16,15],"class_list":["post-1088535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-ewn","tag-ewn-news","tag-ewn-south-africa","tag-eye-witness-news","tag-eyewitness-news","tag-health","tag-latest-news","tag-medication","tag-news","tag-news-today","tag-prime-media-plus","tag-primedia","tag-primedia-plus","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116918055661891727","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1088535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1088535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1088535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1088535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}