On July 31st, 24, BBC published an article on the devastating effects surrounding the online purchases of fake semaglutide – an active ingredient in legal drugs like Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes drug, and Wegovy, a weight loss drug. The article interviewed a member of Fight the Fakes Alliance, Oksana Pyzik, a professor at UCL School of Pharmacy. You can access the full BBC article here.
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in slimming drugs, has been populated by celebrities as the key to their weight loss and influenced others into dangerous actions to achieve the same results. BBC interviewed several people who bought fake or tampered semaglutide and the devastating effects it had. BBC also investigated where and how easily these drugs were being distributed online.
Several stories are highlighted where the user wanted a quick fix for weight loss and bought injections of semaglutide without a prescription, usually from a “friend of a friend” or an online social media posting. And in every case, only hours after the injection, the user needed to be hospitalized with varying but highly concerning symptoms.
BBC tested several of these substances and found that some of them had no traces of semaglutide in it at all or were substandard. Further, it is illegal to sell semaglutide without approval, something some sellers were unaware of. Little to no instructions were given on the dosage or symptoms nor the storage of these medicines.
Pyzik is quoted several times on the seriousness of the heath situation “You’re really gambling with your own life by buying a medicine from social media. It is just not worth losing your life to lose weight,” while highlighting the need for more education around the dangers of buying fake medicines online.
With many transactions starting online on social media, companies like Meta try to remove such content but cannot seem to catch all the content in the time it repopulates. This issue truly requires greater collaboration between companies and governmental regulatory organizations.
The issue of substandard and falsified medicines, especially their online distribution, remains a prevalent threat involving everyone, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers. We encourage you to learn more about how to spot and avoid these medicines and join us in the fight against fake medicine.
