Counterfeit Weight Loss Injections - Trading Standards

27th June 2025

Following reports of people experiencing severe side effects after using fake weight-loss medicines, the MHRA is warning people not to buy these medications via social media or in beauty salons without a healthcare professional's prescription.

The growth in popularity of these medications such as semaglutide or Mounjaro, known collectively as GLP-1 medicines, has led to a rise in scam websites and social media posts which impersonate pharmacies and offer them illegally without a prescription.

Those who buy products from scam sites usually receive a prefilled syringe or a glass vial containing a powder. There is no way of knowing exactly what these liquids or powders contain and it is unlikely that they will have gone through any safety assessments.

Medicines supplied via these scam sites may not be approved for use in the UK and could contain toxins and other ingredients that could cause serious harm to users.

The MHRA says that the only way to guarantee you receive a genuine weight-loss medicine is to obtain it from a legitimate pharmacy, including those trading online, against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. If you are offered a weight-loss medicine in any other circumstances, whether online or offline, they are putting your health at serious risk and breaking the law.

The MHRA advise that these injections are licensed to treat specific medical conditions and should not be used as aesthetic or cosmetic treatments. They are not a quick fix to lose weight and have not been assessed to be safe when used in this way.

The MHRA have recently published detailed information about the safe use of GLP-1 medicines: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know

How to Avoid
Be cautious when buying any medicine online. All GLP-1 medicines are prescription only medicines, which means they can only be prescribed by a healthcare professional.

You can check that online pharmacies based in Great Britain are properly registered via the General Pharmaceutical Council's (GPhC) website at www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers

You can report medicines you think may be fake or counterfeit to the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme at https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk

Find out More
Original article: www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-medicines-regulator-warns-against-buying-weight-loss-medicines-without-a-prescription-this-new-year
MHRA Yellow Card Scheme: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/
GPhC Website: www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers
Video from MHRA: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNkqNy0W7rI