More than one in five weight-loss medication users (21%) in the UK did not have their drugs prescribed by a healthcare professional. This is according to a new survey by ZAVA. Notably, one in six (16.6%) purchased weight-loss medication from online marketplaces such as eBay, while around one in ten (11.8%) obtained theirs from social media.
Counterfeit ‘skinny jabs’ are increasingly entering the UK black market, described by authorities as “more dangerous than cocaine and heroin“, following reports that a Manchester mother died after an illegal dose of £20 semaglutide from a beauty salon. Just last month, the UK made its largest-ever seizure of fake weight loss jabs at a Northampton factory, confiscating over 2,000 counterfeit injections, valued at an estimated £250K.
The findings are based on a representative panel of 1,004 UK adults who currently use, or have used, weight-loss medications to uncover the scale of unregulated purchases and understand the main motivators behind these potentially risky choices.
Counterfeit risk
In terms of consumer habits, almost two in five (38.6%) reported purchasing through an in-person UK-registered pharmacy. Here it is online pharmacies are the most popular source for weight-loss medications in the UK. With the convenience of having supplies delivered straight to your door and no long waiting times, half of respondents (49.9%) now turn to online pharmacies as their go-to option.
Before making a purchase, health professionals recommend that consumers check for the pharmacy’s General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration number and verify it on the GPhC website. This will confirm whether the pharmacy is properly regulated and meets official guidelines. Buying from unregulated online pharmacies can have serious consequences, potentially exposing you to counterfeit or improperly dosed products.
It is also apparent that around one in six (16.63%) admitted to buying their medication from online marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon, where products can often be sold without proper medical oversight. Young adults aged 18 – 24 were the most likely to do so (23.5%) – five times higher than those aged 55 and over (4.6%).
A further 12.7% sourced their supply from friends or family members, while another 11.8% said they were influenced to buy through social media or influencers. Millennials aged 25 to 34 were the most likely to trust social platforms, with almost 28% in this age group admitting to purchasing weight-loss drugs through these channels.
Men take more risks than women
While over half of respondents (55.9%) were confident they were using legitimate weight-loss medications, almost one in four (22.3%) admitted they suspected the legitimacy of their medication but chose to take the risk, and 14.5% knowingly purchased products they were aware were unregulated or counterfeit.
Men appeared significantly more willing to take health risks, with 27.6% acknowledging that they took the risk despite doubts about legitimacy, compared to 16.9% of women. Alarmingly, more than half of young adults aged 18 to 24 (56.9%) said they were aware of buying unregulated or counterfeit weight-loss medication, followed by 43.1% of respondents aged 35 to 44.
Over a quarter of respondents (27.8%) said that feeling desperate to lose weight quickly pushed them to purchase unprescribed weight-loss medications, while 24% admitted they were impatient to wait for a prescription. Additionally, a further one in six (17.9%) reported taking unprescribed drugs due to pressure to lose weight from work, social media or personal relationships, reflecting an emotional impulse to prioritise speed over safety when it comes to weight loss.
Social media: A dangerous force?
Beyond the urge to slim down fast, nearly 20% of respondents turned to unprescribed drugs for privacy as they didn’t want anyone to know they were using them, while 16.9% said they wanted to avoid speaking to a doctor.
Social media has also emerged as one of the biggest drivers, with 17.9% of respondents saying they bought unprescribed medication because everyone else seemed to be using it, and a further 13.2% swayed by social media content or celebrities. On TikTok, the hashtag #Mounjaro has amassed a staggering 581.9K videos, while #Wegovy clocks 124.6K videos to date.
