DIETERS buying illegal skinny jabs online are putting their lives at risk, a Sun on Sunday investigation has revealed.
We found the quantity and strength of the active ingredient in the weight loss injections varies enormously between suppliers.
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And crucial instructions on use are minimal — or even missing.
Our shock findings were branded “simply horrific” by Tory MP Caroline Nokes.
She said: “There’s no way of knowing what you’re buying, so you could overdose, you could be pumping your body with other harmful substances.
“Even if you miraculously get one batch which seems to work, you’ve got zero idea the next one will.
“It’s some crazy form of 21st century Russian roulette, leeching off people’s insecurities.”
Twenty deaths have been linked to the jabs since 2019, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The lethal lottery uncovered by our investigators confirmed the experience of two slimmers who bought skinny jabs online before ending up in A&E, suffering fits and paralysis.
Jennifer Finestone, from Glasgow, a 37-year-old skincare specialist, suffered cold sweats and went to bed ill — but when she woke up she was paralysed and had slurred speech.
After being rushed to A&E, doctors diagnosed a mini stroke.
Jennifer checked her jab kit and said: “One I’d used was a diabetic pen filled with insulin.
“Not being diabetic, the insulin would have caused me to have a hypo seizure. I just feel so stupid for having taken the risk.
“I know now that they should only be used by people who are prescribed them. I obviously regret it and how I got it.”
The unregulated market sees unlicensed jabs touted as miracle weight loss solutions and sold via Facebook or Instagram without prescription or proper checks.
While it is illegal to sell them, it is not against the law to buy injections for personal use.
To assess the risks, The Sun on Sunday bought four kits via social media and sent them to Dr Alexander Lawson, of University Hospitals Birmingham, for analysis.
LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
MUM-OF-TWO Michelle Sword had a terrifying brush with death after spending £150 on “skinny pens” advertised on Facebook.
Minutes after injecting herself with what she believed was Ozempic, she was unconscious in her living room.
Her blood sugar was so low that paramedics needed 90 minutes to stabilise her for the journey to hospital.
Then she started convulsing in the ambulance.
Receptionist Michelle, 45, from Carterton, Oxon, said: “It took a team of doctors 45 minutes to bring me back. Diabetics have a hypo when their level drops below 4mmol/L – mine was at 0.6. Somehow, they kept me alive. The consultant said he’d never seen anyone survive such a low blood sugar level.”
Doctors found that Michelle had been sent insulin pens, designed for diabetics, with Ozempic labels stuck on top.
“It definitely could’ve killed me,” she said.
“When I contacted the Facebook seller, telling them their pens were going to kill someone, they blocked me.”
While some contained 99 per cent pure semaglutide — the drug in popular skinny jabs Ozempic and Wegovy — others had as little as 24 per cent.
Ozempic and Wegovy are both safe to take when used correctly and as prescribed by a healthcare professional.
The variation in the strength of the black market drugs we tested has sparked concern, with medics warning users could end up taking too much semaglutide, with the potential for “life threatening” pancreatitis and hypoglycaemia.
‘I feel so stupid’
The first seller, Skinny-Jabs.co.uk, which advertised its £85 injections on Facebook, suggests a “starter kit” for a first-time user, before building up to stronger doses.
The kit we bought arrived in four pre-made injections to be used weekly.
Analysis showed it was just 35.8 per cent pure semaglutide.
We found the second seller through an Instagram advert.
When approached, supplier @semaglutide_ skinny_jabs — who has since deleted their Instagram page — recommended a “starter course” of 5mg jabs, adding: “I can’t let you go on the bigger one. It would be completely irresponsible of me.”
Worryingly, these jabs came in a plain vial of white powder, raising concerns over how people would mix and administer the drug.
Dr Lawson found these jabs were 99 per cent pure semaglutide.
A ten-week course cost £120, including delivery.
Seller three also worked through Instagram, selling a ten-week supply for £100, with £6.50 postage, using the account @skinnyjabsonline.
Our investigator was told to use 0.25mg for two weeks, before upping the dose to 0.5mg.
The supplier boasted: “Clients I’ve had have lost from one to 4st in the first three months.”
Tests found this was also 99 per cent pure.
Our final seller was linked via Facebook to an aesthetic practitioner in Cheshire.
JnJ’s Body Sculpting offered a four-week course with “one extra week for free”. We paid £150.
This was the only set to arrive in a freezer pack, as recommended.
When I contacted the Facebook seller, telling them their pens were going to kill someone, they blocked m
Michelle Sword
But Dr Lawson found the jabs were only 23.8 per cent pure.
Dr Lawson concluded our kits were from different sources, which meant they were “highly unlikely to come from a regulated supply chain”, which was “of concern”.
He was also alarmed by the varying strengths and dosages and the scant user information.
The genuine semaglutide brands, Ozempic and Wegovy, should only be prescribed by professionals.
Ozempic was designed to manage blood glucose level in patients with Type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy is authorised in the UK for diabetics, or obese patients at risk of it.
Semaglutide’s use by celebs such as Tesla tycoon Elon Musk, TV star Sharon Osbourne and even ex-PM Boris Johnson has created massive global demand.
Tory MP Caroline said: “All these celebrities have created this insane frenzy. It makes me furious that companies like (Facebook and Instagram owner) Meta aren’t taking any responsibility. Social media is the new Wild West, a place where illegal drugs that can kill people and ruin lives are openly sold.”
Pharmacist and lecturer Oksana Pyzik, founder of organisation Fight The Fakes, believes the problem is far more widespread than the authorities suspect.
She said: “This counterfeit industry is fuelled by the insane demand for them way outstripping supply. The moment you close down one dodgy seller, another pops up.
“The fake medicines market is worth over £200billion. Sell heroin or cocaine and you face a long spell in prison. But sell these fake jabs and it’s like a blank cheque with no real repercussions.”
Facebook and Instagram were understood to be investigating the unlicensed sellers last night.
WHAT THE LAB TESTS SHOW
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99% – @semaglutide_skinny_ jabs sent the drug as a powder, raising concerns of how people would mix it. Jabs cost £120 and contained 2.89mg of the drug. The account has been deleted.
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23.8% – JnJ’s Body Sculpting sent four-week course for £150 with one week free – the only kit sent in a freezer pack. Jabs contained 1.01mg of the drug. Seller was contacted for comment.
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99% – @Skinnyjabsonline advertised on Instagram. They sent us a 10-week course for £100. The jabs contained just 0.95mg of semaglutide. Seller was contacted for comment.
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35.8% – Skinny-jabs.co.uk sent us four syringes for £85. The jabs contained 1.99mg of semaglutide. The seller disputed our lab results and insisted that they were “helping” people.
PREYING ON OUR EMOTION
By Dr Luke Pratsides
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I AM extremely concerned by this new data and by the widespread availability of black market weight loss medications sold on social media.
Unlicensed medication is provided without any clinical assessment as to whether it is appropriate for an individual to take weight loss meds, and without oversight from a UK- registered clinician.
This is unsafe and puts the purchaser at risk.
The doses of licensed drugs are specifically set by the manufacturers to have the desired effect and not be toxic.
Taking more than the dosage may have no beneficial effect, but may still cause unwanted side-effects like nausea.
Taking more may induce vomiting and diarrhoea and is more likely to cause life threatening, rare side-effects like pancreatitis.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The bad actors that sell these unlicensed drugs exploit the public’s emotional attachment to weight – and their desperation to gain access to new weight loss drugs.
- Dr Pratsides is a GP and head of Medical at licensed pharmaceutical provider Numan.