MIRACLE weight loss injections meant for the clinically obese are being sold openly online without prescription, it has been revealed.
The “skinny jabs,” which contain a prescription-only appetite suppressant known as Saxenda, are meant only for people with a BMI of over 30 or those with disorders such as diabetes.
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But many fake online pharmacies and unregistered clinics are now selling the jabs to people who are not overweight and do not have a prescription, The Sunday Times has revealed.
The jabs, whose side effects include nausea and pancreatitis, have not yet been approved by the NHS but can be prescribed privately by a licensed healthcare provider.
One online seller, SkinnyJabsUK, agreed to sell £450-worth of injections for next-day delivery to a reporter posing as a healthy customer wanting to lose two stone in 2½ months.
But when asked whether the customer needed to speak to a doctor or licensed prescriber, owner of the company Mark Pickston, said: “No, no, I do everything. We get that sorted out.”
When later approached for comment, Mark, who has no known healthcare qualifications, said: “This is simply impossible as every client has a prescription. We can promise that we are always fully committed to the wellbeing of our clients.”
‘NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS’
Several companies promote the drug on Instagram and Facebook as a miracle weight-loss tool – despite it being illegal to advertise prescription drugs.
One online seller, Skinny Clinic, in Sheffield, promotes the jabs on its Instagram feed, promising to get you “bikini body ready” and help you “drop a dress size in three weeks” using the jabs.
One post read: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” but was deleted with the other posts after being alerted.
The clinic told a reporter posing as a customer that it had sold skinny jabs to people with a BMI as low as 22, a number usually considered healthy.
The clinic is not registered with the Care Quality Commission and, like many other companies, does not display the online medicine selling logo as required.
It claims, however, to issue prescriptions through a nurse “who has 27 years’ experience” in the NHS – something the Nursing and Midwifery Council is investigating.
A representative from Skinny Clinic told The Sun Online: “The nurse is not doing anything illegal. She is a registered NHS nurse.”
ROGUE TRADERS
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners who offer non-surgical cosmetic treatments, said the organisation received 157 reports of rogue traders selling the injections last year.
The figure has risen from 96 in 2018 and 54 in 2017.
Speaking of the beauticians and others who sell the jabs, she said: “They often buy them from China at incredibly cheap prices to circumvent the need for prescriptions.”
Novo Nordisk has no affiliation with any of these weight-loss programmes, and we do not authorise the use of any of our medicines outside of their licensed indications.
Novo Nordisk
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now warned against the use of Saxenda for cosmetic reasons and has said it will investigate the websites in question.
The agency said: “We will review the websites for compliance with medicines regulations and take further action as necessary.”
The Advertising Standards Authority is also preparing to crack down on traders illegally promoting the injections.
Novo Nordisk, which makes Saxenda, said: “Novo Nordisk has no affiliation with any of these weight-loss programmes, and we do not authorise the use of any of our medicines outside of their licensed indications.
“Private weight-loss clinics can purchase Saxenda from a UK wholesaler, who carries out the required checks to ensure safe distribution of the medicine. Novo Nordisk has no influence over who purchases from this wholesaler.”
Instagram and Facebook has now removed a set of accounts and posts advertising skinny jabs.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, said: “We don’t allow the sale, purchase or promotion of prescription drugs. We urge anyone who comes across content like this to report it using our in-app reporting tools.”
The Sun Online has approached Skinny Jabs UK for comment.
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