‘It’s absolutely open to abuse’: web awash with weight-loss drug offers

After Andy King was told he was not eligible to receive weight-loss jabs on the NHS, he turned to the internet to order them privately. But before long, he was inundated with promotions.

“Every other advert on my social media feed is an offer to have a Black Friday deal on the drugs,” he said.

In a video call with the Guardian, King, a 59-year-old leisure management consultant and coach, demonstrated what happens when he looks for such medications.

Opening a search engine, he typed three words: “Weight loss drugs.”

The results were myriad, with links to high-street pharmacies offering the jabs with various prices and discounts.

“Weight Loss Injections – Black Friday – Save £20,” the first result read, with a link to LloydsPharmacy.

Below it, an advert from Superdrug claimed: “Multiple weight-loss treatments available. New customers get 10% off with code…”

“It’s just full of price-led offers for the drug,” said King.

Clicking on one of the adverts, King said the situation felt like a transaction.

“It just feels like this is price led. You can have it if you want it,” he said. “There will be a consultation that you need to go through. But I’m not buying a consultation.”

Promotion of prescription-only medications, such as the weight-loss jabs Wegovy and Mounjaro, is illegal, and a growing number of online pharmacies have been reprimanded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for such adverts.

However, experts are also concerned about the aggressive promotion of weight-loss services that fall within the law. These tend to exploit loopholes in legislation, such as the ability to advertise a consultation or service, but often include references to weight-loss jabs and their effects, too.

Oksana Pyzik, an associate professor of pharmacy practice and policy at UCL school of pharmacy, said: “This trend reflects an unprecedented hype around weight-loss medications, with many consumers viewing them as lifestyle products rather than regulated medicines. The public is often unaware of the requirement for prescriptions and consultations.”

The perspective is shared by David Hatton, a semi-retired financial IT programme manager. “I’ll be honest, it makes you feel like it’s not a prescription drug,” he said.

Hatton, 62, sought out weight-loss jabs after finding his GP was not in a position to provide a prescription. He used AI to search online for the best price for the medications.

“You can just ask the question: ‘What’s the best online pharmacy to buy [the weight-loss jab] Mounjaro?’ and it lists six of them, and it gives you links into them, and it tells you the benefits and disadvantages,” he said.

Hatton and King point out that Mounjaro, which is more expensive than Wegovy, is generally presented first on websites alongside statistics showing it results in greater weight loss.

The use of promotion codes affected his purchasing, Hatton said.

“I almost don’t buy anything unless it’s got a discount code available, because I assume that they priced in that people are going to do that, even with pharmaceuticals,” he said. “And it certainly proved to be the case. I think it’s only one month I haven’t got at least 15 to 20% off.”

While discount codes are often described as applying to a weight-loss “service”, as opposed to the medicine, in order to comply with advertising rules, the bottom line is that access to the medications becomes cheaper.

“I don’t see it as a service at all, because I don’t see they offer a service,” said Hatton. “I mean, to me, it’s total window dressing.”

Marie*, 34, turned to weight-loss jabs after a friend used them successfully.

“I think it’s crazy how easily you can buy it and how little aftercare there is,” she said, adding that it was very easy to lie when filling in forms for a prescription through online pharmacies.

King, who has ordered weight-loss jabs from several online pharmacies, said he also had concerns about how easy it was to access the medications.

“The obvious thing is, it’s just about weight loss. And who doesn’t want to lose a few pounds? Not many people. So it’s absolutely open to abuse,” he said. “With a couple of exceptions, who asked for photos to be sent in, you can just tell [the online pharmacy] anything, and they’re happy for you to do that because they’re trying to sell your drugs and make a margin. You know, it’s like we’re all kidding ourselves here.”

Marie, who has experienced disordered eating, said she continued to see promotions for weight-loss jabs. “In the last sort of three months, every time they come up on my Instagram, which is the only social media I use, I’ve been saying not interested, because it’s quite triggering,” she said.

When asked what exactly the posts were advertising, Marie was clear. “The medication,” she said.