Top GP warns NHS waiting list is driving rise in unsafe fat jabs and backstreet dealers
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Long waiting lists at NHS weight loss clinics are fuelling a rise in potentially unsafe fat jabs and backstreet dealers, the nation's top GP has warned. Prof Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, warned people are putting themselves at risk by buying drugs online from unregulated retailers. And it's feared they are missing out on wraparound support in hospitals needed alongside the medication, which is designed to tackle obesity.
The wonder drugs’ popularity has exploded on the back of celebrity trends and blockbuster clinical trials. But Prof Hawthorne fears cheaper alternatives to the pre-filled injection pens mean people preparing part of the medicine at home. It comes as the medicines regulator warned against buying weight loss drugs without a prescription on social media or through beauty salons.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) urged people to be aware of fake pharmacy websites and social media posts offering weight-loss medicines illegally without a prescription. It warned criminals will go to "great lengths" to make their businesses appear "authentic" and the products they are selling could potentially contain "toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm".
Andy Morling, 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, from beauty salons, websites and on social media.
