Major change to online fat jab sales in bid to stop people pretending to be obese to get drug
ONLINE fat jab sales will be tightened up with video or face-to-face chats mandatory under new industry rules.
Pharmacies selling weight loss injections have been told to get a patient’s GP medical record or do proper visual size checks.
The General Pharmaceutical Council said too many people are pretending to be obese online to get the drugs.
The independent regulator has designated GLP-1 receptor agonists — including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — as high-risk medicines.
Guidelines limit their use to the obese, with a body mass index above 30, or overweight people with health problems such as high blood pressure.
But some slimmers wanting to shed weight fast pretend to be larger to get the £140-a-month supplies.
More detailed checks beyond a form and photo aim to prevent this and to protect people with eating disorders.
Pharmacies breaking the rules face fines, sanctions or being struck off.
The jabs mimic a hormone created when you are full, slowing digestion and preventing cravings. Side-effects include vomiting and diarrhoea.
Duncan Rudkin, chief of the GPhC, said: “We’ve seen too many cases of medicines being supplied inappropriately and putting people at risk.”
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