The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continues to take a stand against buying weight-loss products from unregulated websites or through social media.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned about the risks linked to buying weight-loss products from unregulated websites or through social media. Products sold illegally may be fake, contaminated, incorrectly dosed, or contain powerful ingredients not listed on the packaging, it has said. These can lead to side effects, including heart problems, psychological effects and low blood sugar.
“As a practising doctor and patient safety minister, I want to be absolutely clear – please do not buy weight-loss medications from unregulated sources,” said health minister Zubir Ahmed.
“These products are made with no regard for safety or quality and pose a major risk to unwitting customers. Don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.”
It emphasised that some medicines used for weight management – including all GLP-1 medicines, sometimes referred to as “skinny jabs” – are prescription-only. They should only ever be supplied following a proper assessment by a qualified healthcare professional to ensure the treatment is appropriate and safe.
The battle continues
The warning is the latest battle in the government’s continuing war against illegal weight-loss drugs.
In December, three individuals were convicted for their roles in an organised criminal group responsible for the large-scale unlawful supply of unauthorised medicinal products online, one individual was found not guilty. A fifth pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
The investigation, led by the MHRA criminal enforcement unit and known as Operation Lamborghini, uncovered an organised criminal network operating a series of websites to illegally supply unlicensed medicines – including those controlled as Class B and Class C drugs.
The previous month, officers dismantled a major illicit manufacturing facility, making and distributing unlicensed weight-loss jabs, during a raid on a warehouse in Northampton.
And in October, the MHRA, in partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), jointly released an updated enforcement notice to reiterate the rules around the advertising of prescription-only medicines used for weight management.
