Concerns raised about accessibility of dodgy weight loss jabs following death of Salford mum
Campaigners are saying non-clinical professionals are playing the 'lottery' with peoples lives
The death of a Salford mum is raising urgent questions about the accessibility of dodgy weight loss jabs.
53-year-old, Karen McGonigal, was unable to get the medication on the NHS, so looked to get it in other ways.
She sadly died in May, just days after she was illegally administered semaglutide at a beauty salon.
What campaigners are saying
Ashton Collins is from 'Save Face' - they champion for better industry standards.
She said: "We run a lot of campaigns around the risks of buying cheap or fake products online and weight loss jabs are something that's extremely prevalent in that area at the moment.
"We want to educate people as much as possible that just because it's cheap, it doesn't mean it's good. If you're buying these products, you are taking a huge risk with your health and your appearance. And quite frankly, it's not worth the risk.
"We're seeing people that are not overweight in the slightest, who may have underlying body dysmorphia issues, or anorexia or bulimia, that are turning to these rogue sellers who are willing to sell them to girls who are size 8, size 6, and the consequences are so severe."
Ashton is concerned about people buying injections from the black market and selling them on: "Currently, there is a real underground operation of non-healthcare professionals who are not able to prescribe these jabs appropriately. They're not buying them from licensed pharmacies. They are buying them illegally from places like China and Korea and importing them into the UK.
"These are unlabelled vials that are being posted to people in brown envelopes with loose syringes and saline solution whereby they mix this solution up themselves and they dose it themselves. There are no controls over what exactly is in these products and the dosages are not consistent. And so it's a real, real problem.
"At the moment we are receiving up to a dozen calls per week from concerned practitioners or members of the public that are seeing people who are not registered healthcare professionals promoting these weight loss jabs online and selling them via Instagram or Facebook.
"The individuals are not registered healthcare professionals and therefore are not able to prescribe these medications appropriately so it's indicative that they are buying them from the black market and when that happens it's quite simply a lottery because we have no idea what is in these products. They haven't been through any safety or efficacy trials.
Ashton has this advice: "There are several well-known chains that offer these medications as well as several online pharmacies. You'll be able to tell which is a registered pharmacy because they'll have a registered pharmacy number. You can check that via the General Pharmaceutical Council to make sure that they're legitimate.
"You'll notice that these people go through extensive checks to make sure that you're suitable for these treatments, taking medical histories, making sure that you don't have any underlying health conditions that may interact with these drugs. All of this is really important to guarantee your safety whilst you're on this journey and also educating you around diet and nutrition and exercise and all of these other key factors that make your weight loss journey not only safe but successful."
An investigation into Karen's death is on-going with Greater Manchester Police arresting one person on suspicion of manslaughter and another on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance.