Dieters who buy illegal skinny jabs online are putting their lives at risk, a Sun on Sunday investigation has found.
We’ve found that the amount and strength of active ingredients in weight loss injections vary widely between suppliers.
And important instructions for use are minimal or even missing.
Our shocking findings were branded “simply horrifying” by Conservative MP Caroline Noakes.
“There’s no way to know what you’re buying, so you could end up overdosing or introducing other harmful substances into your body.
“Even if you miraculously get one batch that seems to work, you never know whether the next batch will work or not.
“This is a crazy 21st century game of Russian roulette that preys on people’s fears.”
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said 20 deaths have been linked to the jab since 2019.
The deadly lottery uncovered by our investigators corroborated the experiences of two slim athletes who bought skinny jabs online, ended up in A&E and suffered seizures and paralysis.
Jennifer Finestone, a 37-year-old skincare specialist from Glasgow, went to bed in a cold sweat and felt unwell, but when she woke up she was paralyzed and had slurred speech.
After being rushed to A&E, doctors diagnosed him with a mild stroke.
Jennifer checked her jab kit and said: “What I used was a diabetic pen filled with insulin.
“Since I wasn’t diabetic, insulin would have given me a low seizure. I feel really stupid for taking the risk.
“Now I know they should only be used by the person for whom they were prescribed. I obviously regret it and how it happened.”
In the unregulated market, unlicensed jabs are being touted as miracle weight loss solutions and sold through Facebook and Instagram without a prescription or proper testing.
Although it is illegal to sell syringes, it is not against the law to purchase syringes for personal use.
To assess the risk, The Sun on Sunday purchased four kits through social media and sent them to Dr Alexander Lawson at Birmingham University Hospital for analysis.
lucky to be alive
Mum-of-two Michelle Sword faced a horrific death after spending £150 on a ‘skinny pen’ she advertised on Facebook.
Minutes after injecting herself with what was believed to be Ozempic, she passed out in her living room.
Her blood sugar levels were so low that it took paramedics 90 minutes to stabilize her and transport her to the hospital.
Then, in the ambulance, she started convulsing.
Michelle, 45, a receptionist from Carterton, Oxon, said: ‘It took 45 minutes for the team of doctors to take me back. Diabetics have low blood pressure when their levels drop below 4mmol/L. It was 0.6. Somehow they kept me alive. The consultant said he had never seen anyone survive such a low blood sugar level.”
Doctors discovered that Michelle had been sent an insulin pen labeled as Ozempic for diabetics.
“It definitely could have killed me,” she said.
“When I contacted the seller on Facebook and told them their pen was going to kill someone, they blocked me.”
Some contained 99% pure semaglutide (the drug found in the popular skinny jabs Ozempic and Wigovy), while others contained only 24%.
Both Ozempic and Wegovy are safe to consume when used correctly and as prescribed by a medical professional.
Variations in strength of black market drugs we tested raise concerns, with doctors warning users could take too much semaglutide and cause ‘life-threatening’ pancreatitis and hypoglycemia are doing.
“I feel so stupid.”
The original seller, Skinny-Jabs.co.uk, is promoting the £85 injection on Facebook, offering a “starter kit” for first-time users before increasing to a more potent dose. ing.
The kit we purchased came with four ready-made injections to be used weekly.
Analysis revealed that the purity of semaglutide was only 35.8%.
I found the second seller through an Instagram ad.
When contacted, supplier @semaglutide_skinny_jabs (whose Instagram page has now been deleted) recommended a “starter course” of the 5mg jab, adding: That would be completely irresponsible of me. ”
Worryingly, these jabs come in plain vials of white powder, raising concerns about how people mix and administer the drug.
Dr Lawson found these jabs to be 99 per cent pure semaglutide.
The 10 week course costs £120 including delivery.
Seller 3 was also active through Instagram, using the account @skinnyjabsonline to sell a 10 week supply for £100, plus £6.50 shipping.
Our researchers were told to use 0.25mg for two weeks before increasing the dose to 0.5mg.
This supplier boasted, “I had a client that went from #1 to #4 in the first three months.”
Testing showed that it was also 99% pure.
Our final seller was linked to Cheshire Beauty Specialists via Facebook.
JnJ’s Body Sculpting offered a 4-week course with “an extra week free.” We paid £150.
This was the only set that came in a frozen pack as recommended.
When I contacted the seller on Facebook and told them their pen was going to kill someone, they blocked me.
michelle sword
But Dr Lawson found the jab was only 23.8 per cent pure.
Dr Lawson said our kits came from a different source, meaning it was “very unlikely to have come from a regulated supply chain”, which he said was “a matter of concern”. I concluded.
He was also concerned about the varying strengths and doses and the lack of user information.
Genuine semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy should only be prescribed by a professional.
Ozempic is designed to manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy is approved in the UK for obese patients with or at risk of diabetes.
The use of semaglutide by celebrities such as Tesla mogul Elon Musk, TV star Sharon Osbourne and even former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has created huge global demand.
Conservative MP Caroline said: “All these celebrities have sparked this crazy frenzy. I’m furious that companies like Meta (owners of Facebook and Instagram) are not taking any responsibility. Social media is the new Wild West, where illegal drugs that kill and ruin lives are openly sold.
Oksana Pizik, a pharmacist and founder of the group Fight the Fakes, believes the problem is much more widespread than authorities assume.
She said: “This counterfeit industry is fueled by extraordinary demand that far exceeds supply. The moment you shut down one dodgy seller, another appears.
“The fake drugs market is worth over £200bn. If you sell heroin or cocaine, you’ll face a long prison sentence. But if you sell these fake jabs, what are the real consequences? It’s like a blank check.”
Facebook and Instagram were revealed last night to be investigating unauthorized sellers.
What can be learned from clinical tests
99% – @semaglutide_skinny_ The jab delivered the drug as a powder, raising concerns about how people would mix it. The jab cost £120 and contained 2.89mg of the drug. Account has been deleted.
23.8% – JnJ’s Body Sculpting sent you a 4 week course for £150 with 1 week free. This is the only kit that was sent in a frozen pack. The jab contained 1.01mg of the drug. We have reached out to the seller for comment.
99% – @Skinnyjabsonline is promoted on Instagram. They sent us a 10 week course for £100. The jab contained just 0.95mg of semaglutide. We have reached out to the seller for comment.
35.8% – Skinny-jabs.co.uk sent me 4 syringes for £85. The jab contained 1.99mg of semaglutide. The seller disputed our test results and claimed they were “helping” people.
prey on our emotions
Written by Dr. Luke Platides
I am very concerned about this new data and the widespread availability of black market weight loss drugs sold on social media.
Unlicensed medicines are provided without a clinical assessment of whether it is appropriate for an individual to take weight loss drugs, and without the supervision of a UK-registered clinician.
This is unsafe and puts the buyer at risk.
Doses of approved medicines are specifically set by the manufacturer to achieve the desired effect and not be toxic.
Taking more than the dose has no beneficial effects, but may cause unwanted side effects such as nausea.
Ingesting higher amounts can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and is more likely to cause rare, life-threatening side effects such as pancreatitis.
The bad actors selling these unlicensed drugs take advantage of the public’s emotional obsession with weight and the public’s desperation to obtain new weight loss drugs.
- Dr. Pratsides is a general practitioner and medical director at Numan, a licensed pharmaceutical company.
