Long waits for NHS services could lead people to take matters into their own hands by buying potentially unsafe weight-loss jabs online, Britain’s top GP has said.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, warned that buying drugs online from unregulated retailers could put people at risk and they may also miss out on wraparound support offered alongside the medication.
She also expressed concerns about the safety of cheaper alternatives to the pre-filled injection pens, which involve preparing part of the medicine at home.
Her warning came as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) cautioned against buying illegal weight-loss medicines without a prescription through beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or on social media, saying these products could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Andy Morling, the MHRA’s deputy director of criminal enforcement, said: “At this time of year, with many of us thinking about shedding a little excess weight, we see people offering weight-loss medicines for sale as a quick fix, without a healthcare professional’s prescription.”
Urging people to exercise caution, he said “criminals go to great lengths to make their website storefronts look authentic and convincing”.
“These are not cosmetic treatments; they are powerful medicines that can only be legally and safely dispensed against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional,” he added.
Hawthorne said the population was “gradually getting bigger and bigger,” leading to widespread chronic illness.
In an interview with the PA Media news agency, she said she had “serious concerns” about “quite a lot of people” buying weight-loss drugs privately, as “some of these places are not fully regulated”.
The demand was in part being driven by very long waits for weight-loss support, she added, calling on the government to adequately fund services.
“If you’re faced with a two-year waiting time and you want to lose weight now, and you know that there is a way that you can lose weight, you know that drug works because nobody’s denying that they don’t work, you might well decide that you’re going to just sort it out yourself,” Hawthorne said.
“I would definitely suggest that you come and talk to your doctor or practice nurse about what you’re intending to do and let them help you,” she said. “Please don’t go off and buy a [weight-loss injection] unless it is under the supervision of a medically qualified doctor.”
A recent Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) report revealed some patients were having to wait for up to five years for specialist support, while some services are so overstretched that they have closed their waiting lists entirely.
Katharine Jenner, the OHA’s director, told PA Media the drugs “offer hope of tangible improvements in the lives of people with severe, chronic obesity”, but they were “only safe and effective for those for whom they are medically appropriate, as prescribed by a legitimate prescriber, and are not a long-term solution for the millions of people living with obesity”.
An NHS rollout of the so-called “King Kong” of weight-loss jabs, Mounjaro, is scheduled to take 12 years. An estimated 220,000 people could benefit from the drug in the first three years, out of about 3.4 million people estimated to be eligible, with those at highest need prioritised.
The latest Health Survey for England shows 64% of adults were overweight or obese in 2022.
