Ozempic is being offered by drug sellers alongside class A medication comparable to cocaine and MDMA as they look to money in on the fat-busting frenzy.
The ‘miracle’ weight reduction drug, offered as injection pens for £170, can also be showing on drug menus alongside ADHD treatment Ritalin and nitrous oxide.
Within the UK, semaglutide offered below the names Ozempic and Wegovvy, and Mounjaro offered below tirzepatide can be found as weight-loss jabs.
They’re accessible through non-public pharmacies and on the NHS, with weight-loss pens costing as much as £250 for 4 weekly doses.
Ozempic, nonetheless a devoted sort 2 diabetes treatment, has seen its recognition proceed to soar and newest NHS knowledge reveals that 1.45million semaglutide prescriptions have been handed out in 2023/24, with 139,000 in October alone.
This doesn’t embody sufferers who’re accessing the drug privately.
And drug sellers at the moment are cashing in on the fats loss fever, as psychiatrists and therapists report that their sufferers have been shopping for Ozempic illegally.
Ozempic is being offered by drug sellers alongside class A medication comparable to cocaine and MDMA as they appear to money in on the fat-busting frenzy
The ‘miracle’ weight reduction drug, offered as injection pens for £170, can also be showing on drug menus alongside ADHD treatment Ritalin and nitrous oxide
Drug sellers at the moment are cashing in on the fats loss fever, with psychiatrists and therapists reporting that their sufferers have been shopping for Ozempic illegally
Ozempic, nonetheless a devoted sort 2 diabetes treatment, has seen its recognition proceed to soar and newest NHS knowledge reveals that 1.45million semaglutide prescriptions have been handed out in 2023/24, with 139,000 in October alone
‘Specialised sellers have offered steroids and different performance-enhancing medicine on the aspect for some time and that is very related as a result of customers are enhancing their aesthetic,’ Andre Gomes, communications lead at Launch, the UK’s nationwide centre of experience on medicine and medicines regulation, informed The Occasions.
‘There’s a lot consideration round Ozempic, notably as a result of it’s a prescribed substance which has image-altering results. It seems like that is cashing in on the craze and it follows the identical line as Ritalin and examine medicine.’
Dr Niall Campbell, a psychiatrist on the Priory non-public psychological well being hospital in London, stated: ‘A affected person the opposite day confirmed me the listing despatched by their vendor.
‘There was cocaine, MDMA, psychedelics, ketamine, after which prescribed drugs, together with Wegovy and Mounjaro. It was the primary time I might seen weight-loss medicine there.’
In addition to drug sellers, brazen sellers with no medical {qualifications} are promoting Ozempic on social media platforms comparable to Fb Market.
In the meantime, drug security chiefs have warned that weight reduction jabs like Ozempic enhance the chance of individuals choking to loss of life on the working desk.
The Medicines and Healthcare Merchandise Regulatory Company (MHRA) dominated that warnings about this danger ought to now be added to affected person data for Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, additionally recognized broadly as GLP-1 and twin GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Officers have additionally informed medics to quiz sufferers on if they’re taking the drugs earlier than surgical procedure.
