Illegal ‘semaglutide’ slimming drugs sold in salons and online

For these with extreme weight points, semaglutide – the lively ingredient in slimming medicine – generally is a life-changer. Celebrity success tales have massively elevated demand, however introduced with it a booming black marketplace for unlawful and sometimes life-threatening merchandise. BBC Investigations has found how straightforward these are to purchase.

“I simply don’t like my physique. I’m self-conscious about it.”

Vicky Boyd, from Newcastle, was trying ahead to a vacation, however on the identical time preventing extreme insecurity.

“I went to hospital and so they weighed me and I used to be 13 stone; that was massive for me,” she mentioned.

“It was caught in my head continuously. I wanted one thing. A fast repair.”

Mrs Boyd determined to purchase semaglutide with no prescription, making the acquisition from a “pal of a pal”.

“I simply injected myself – actually one dose and I used to be positive – then I received house and began feeling sleepy.

“Around two within the morning I received up and I could not cease being sick. My facet and my again had been hurting and I simply felt like my physique was completely shutting down.”

Initially she thought it will cross however, deep down, “I knew there was one thing significantly unsuitable”, she mentioned.

“I went to the hospital. They mentioned my physique was riddled with toxins and my coronary heart price was 200-odd.

“They rushed me in and put me on a drip. They mentioned I’d broken my kidneys.”

Today, even after therapy, she says: “I’m not the identical. It feels prefer it’s completely broken me.

“People suppose it is a fast repair however, belief me, it isn’t.”

BBC Investigations spoke to a number of individuals who describe shopping for semaglutide – the lively ingredient within the authorized and licensed medicine Ozempic and Wegovy.

While Ozempic is meant for these with kind 2 diabetes, Wegovy is prescribed particularly for weight reduction.

One girl from Sunderland, who didn’t want to be named, mentioned she additionally purchased semaglutide from a pal of a pal, however three hours after her first injection she began to really feel sick.

She then grew to become violently sick and unable to maintain even water down for “30 hours”.

Suffering a really excessive coronary heart price, she attended A&E the place the workers had been “not shy” in telling her they had been unimpressed with self-injecting.

The BBC had the substance she purchased examined on the University of Sunderland, the place senior lecturer Dr Stephen Childs mentioned it didn’t comprise any semaglutide.

Instead he discovered a small quantity of insulin and different “unknown compounds”.

Dr Childs mentioned anybody who took insulin while not having to might expertise well being issues.

A second girl from Newcastle, who purchased semaglutide from a magnificence salon, additionally grew to become sick after her first dose.

She was rushed by ambulance to the RVI Hospital with signs together with numbness, a coronary heart price that was “by the roof” and excessive vomiting.

The BBC purchased semaglutide from the identical salon, which we’re not figuring out as it’s only one in every of a whole lot of unlawful sellers throughout the nation.

The sale was organized over Facebook and picked up at a property within the Newcastle space.

The package price £100 for a four-week course and got here with needles, a liquid that was being saved in a home fridge, syringes, alcohol wipes and the semaglutide in white powder kind.

Our investigator was requested if they’d diabetes or any historical past of thyroid most cancers, then informed how a lot to inject and the place.

Asked if there have been any uncomfortable side effects, the vendor mentioned some individuals had skilled nausea or dizziness.

Our reporter was informed to affix a Facebook group for extra assist, however no recommendation was given on the best way to retailer the medicines.

The University of Sunderland examined the powder and located it was semaglutide, which is illegitimate to promote with out approval.

In response, the salon proprietor informed us they’d not been conscious they had been breaking the legislation and would cease promoting the injections.

Dr Paul Evans, a Gateshead GP, says Wegovy is on the market on prescription on the NHS, however presently not within the North East and North Cumbria.

“Every time it comes up within the information we get a spike in sufferers asking about it and each time we now have to say ‘I’m sorry we will’t prescribe that in the meanwhile’.

“There’s not likely a commissioning service for this within the North East in the meanwhile. It’s additionally not obtainable due to provide points.”

Oksana Pyzik, a professor at UCL School of Pharmacy and member of the marketing campaign group Fight the Fakes, mentioned: “I feel there’s a degree of informality about Ozempic that we do not see with different prescription drugs.

“People can collapse, have seizures and, if they do not get medical consideration, organ failure and extended harm.

“The legislation must be up to date and we additionally want to carry social media firms accountable.”

But, she mentioned, extra training is required, including: “You’re actually playing with your individual life by shopping for a medication from social media.

“It is simply not value shedding your life to drop some weight.”

• If you will have been affected by this report, assist and help can be found at BBC Action Line.

A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, mentioned: “We do not enable the sale of pharmaceuticals on Facebook and have eliminated the violating content material.”

They mentioned Meta continued “to take a position sources and additional enhance our enforcement”, however related content material continues to be posted on Facebook and different social media platforms.

The Department of Health mentioned: “The Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Agency (MHRA) constantly works to establish these unlawfully buying and selling in medicines and can use its powers to take acceptable enforcement motion.”

Dr Alison Cave, the MHRA’s chief security officer, mentioned: “Buying prescription-only medicines with no prescription from illegally buying and selling suppliers considerably will increase the danger of receiving one thing which is both faux or not licensed to be used within the UK.

“Instead, please report it to us, in order that we will examine and take any mandatory motion.”

Meanwhile, Vicky Boyd’s husband Peter mentioned anybody contemplating shopping for semaglutide on the road or on-line ought to suppose twice.

He detailed his spouse’s expertise on Facebook in a publish which was shared greater than 13,000 instances and prompted others to disclose their tales.

“We had been fortunate,” he mentioned. “Vicky was fortunate.

“The subsequent one that does it may not be.”

Additional reporting by Calum Grewar.