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Pharmacies are expecting a “surge” in the number of patients looking to start weight management treatments in the new year, Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), has warned.
Picard’s comments follow further warnings from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) about the risks of buying weight-loss medication through social media or from unregulated websites.
In an alert issued on 30 December 2025, the MHRA told patients to steer clear of weight-loss products promoted on social media, especially those promising “quick fixes”, “miracle results”, or unusually low prices.
It has advised the public to buy medicines only from registered UK pharmacies or legitimate retailers, to check pharmacy registration on the General Pharmaceutical Council website and to report suspicious websites or products to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme.
Jenn Matthissen, who works on the MHRA safety and surveillance team, said: “People often look for ways to support their health at this time of year, but buying medicines from illegal online sellers can put your health at real risk.”
Zubir Ahmed, a government minister in the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “These products are made with no regard for safety or quality and pose a major risk to unwitting customers. Don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.
“Safe, appropriate, licensed obesity drugs can greatly benefit those with a clinical need but should be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a valid prescription,” he added.
Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), told The Pharmaceutical Journal on 30 December 2025 that pharmacies expected “a surge in the number of patients looking to start weight management treatments in the new year”.
“However, there is a risk of criminals trying to take advantage of this, with unscrupulous fake sellers seeking to cash in.
“Not only are unregulated sellers breaking the law, they can cause serious damage to your health,” he added.
Picard warned that online weight-loss drug scams were “becoming more sophisticated”, stressing that patients should seek help from regulated pharmacies, either online or in-person.
“Community pharmacies can provide a patient with the care they need to achieve a sustainable weight loss, through wrap around support and careful lifestyle changes, where a patient is eligible for treatment,” Picard said.
A spokesperson for the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) commented: “Getting prescription-only medicines for weight management from unregulated sources puts people at risk of potentially life-threatening side-effects. If the medicines aren’t supplied by a pharmacy that is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, then the medicines may be fake, and can make people very ill.
“We would urge people to make sure any prescription medicines they get online are dispensed from a pharmacy registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. You can check if a pharmacy is registered with us by searching our registers on our website.”
An investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal, published in November 2025, found TikTok videos promoting retatrutide, a yet-to-be approved injectable weight -oss drug.
In October 2025, the MHRA seized more than 2,000 unlicensed weight-loss pens, plus raw chemical ingredients in what it said was “believed to be the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss medicines ever recorded by a law enforcement agency worldwide”.
