Obesity: Drugs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67568 on Obesity: Drugs, whether his Department has issued any guidance to the public on the risks of obtaining weight loss medications through online-only providers.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continually monitors the safety of all medicines, including weight loss drugs such as GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs).
Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met the MHRA’s expected standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. The MHRA has safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place, and when a safety issue is confirmed, the MHRA will act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.
In December 2024, January 2025, and June 2025, the MHRA published communications on the safe use of GLP-1Ras, namely:
- ‘The MHRA reminds healthcare professionals to advise patients of the side effects of GLP-1 agonists and to report misuse’, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-reminds-healthcare-professionals-to-advise-patients-of-the-side-effects-of-glp-1-agonists-and-to-report-misuse; - ‘UK medicines regulator warns against buying weight loss medicines without a prescription this New Year’, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-medicines-regulator-warns-against-buying-weight-loss-medicines-without-a-prescription-this-new-year; and - ‘GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes: what you need to know’, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know.
The first communication advised healthcare professionals on the safe use of GLP-1 RAs, including being alert to the potential for misuse and that the benefit risk is only positive when used within the approved indications as detailed in the product information. The MHRA also advised that those purchasing privately online should do so from an authorised source such as a registered pharmacy.
The second communication was aimed towards the public with similar messaging, warning the public of the dangers of accessing medicines from unregulated sources, such as online-only, unverified providers, and emphasised that GLP-1 RAs should only be used with a valid prescription and under clinical supervision. The guidance also urged healthcare professionals to advise patients on recognised side effects and to report misuse via the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme, with further information available at the following link:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/
Most recently, the MHRA issued some general guidance to the public on how to safely and effectively use GLP-1 RAs. The MHRA strongly emphasised the importance of obtaining these medicines from a legitimate pharmacy, including those trading online, with a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. The guidance directed the public in Great Britain to check on the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) website that it is properly registered, and for Northern Ireland to refer to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) website. Further information on the GPhC and the PSNI is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers
https://registers.psni.org.uk/
The MHRA continues to keep the safety of these medicines under continual review.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →