The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has said that it has verified a TV channel report on illegal sales of weight management medicines by three online pharmacies and taken action.
GPhC chief pharmacy officer Roz Gittins said, “We have followed up on the findings from a report by ITV News that people have been able to obtain weight management medicines from three online pharmacies without full and appropriate checks being carried out.
“We have inspected all three of these pharmacies. Two were not meeting all of our standards, and one remains under investigation. To protect the public, we are taking action so they make improvements to meet our standards.
“Our guidance is clear that when prescribing medicines used for weight management, the information provided by the person, including their weight, height and/or body mass index must be checked.
An ITV investigation found that young people with healthy body mass index (BMIs) are using AI and simple photo-editing software to appear overweight and access weight-loss drugs from online sellers.
Weight-loss injections are intended for people with obesity or specific medical needs like Type 2 diabetes.
After hearing repeated claims, the reporter used doctored photos to apply to three different online sellers.
All three of them sent packages containing weight-loss jabs.
While some online pharmacies insist on live video consultations, photos next to a scale, or real-time verification before shipping the drug, for others, uploaded photos are enough.
