You too can look like this, the online ad suggests, if you snap up this chance to purchase a ‘leading brand’ weight-loss jab for £180.
‘DM [direct message] for more info,’ it continues, adding that the item would need to be picked up from a house in Essex.
Facebook Marketplace, renowned for its second-hand bargains, seems an unlikely place to purchase the world’s most revolutionary weight-loss drugs. The powerful prescription-only appetite-suppressing medicines were developed to help those with type 2 diabetes or the seriously overweight, under the supervision of a medical professional.
But as the Daily Mail has discovered, this ad for Ozempic – which is self-injected in weekly doses via an easy-to-use pre-loaded ‘pen’ – is just one of a worrying number on the social media platform.
And the success of the medications in the battle against obesity – earning them the nickname ‘skinny jabs’ – has generated a dark side, with many who are not overweight endangering their health by using them as a quick-fix to tone up and get ‘beach body ready’.
Our reporter completed two Ozempic purchases through Facebook, and no checks were required for either purchase.
The investigation comes after the UK’s medical watchdog issued the latest in a string of stark warnings that weight-loss drugs bought via social media can pose a ‘serious risk’ to health.
The Mail has previously highlighted the horrific case of a mother who fell into a coma and almost died after buying a jab online. But despite the risks to buyer and seller – who face potential criminal prosecution for touting them without a prescription – they are brazenly being peddled in a booming black market.
One of those selling it on Facebook Marketplace was Terry Pitcher, 43, the head of logistics at a glass-recycling firm who lives in Grays, Essex.
His advert described a ‘leading brand weight-loss pen’ for sale for £180, alongside his £39,000 Audi Q8, a £250 Tiffany pendant, a £60 Pandora bracelet and £30 Moda high heels and handbags.
He initially offered a discount of two for £170 each but later ratcheted this up to £260 per pen, claiming low supply meant the price had ‘gone through the roof’.
Asked if the person who used it would need any doctor’s advice, Mr Pitcher said they could do an online consultation with a pharmacist to ensure the user ‘understands everything’. He added there would be an ‘official leaflet inside’ the package.
Minutes after the collection from his wife, Mr Pitcher messaged again to say: ‘Just to be clear as this is a medical product there are no returns or refunds and the product must be kept in the fridge before use.’
When later approached for comment, Mr Pitcher told the Mail that he is a type 2 diabetic prescribed Ozempic by his GP. He said after they were temporarily unavailable from his pharmacy he had bought four extra pens on Facebook Marketplace.
When the supply problems ended, he said he was left with two spare pens, so he was selling them to ‘try and recover my money’. He added: ‘I massively regret this action and it is not something I have done before or would again.’
Another seller advertised ‘pens to support weight loss, 4 doses of 1mg each’ for ‘£100 each’ alongside £7 gold platform shoes, purple high heels, a white sparkly dress and a £25 blue lurex dress she said she wore to represent Greece in a pageant for voluptuous women.
The woman, who we are not naming, was reluctant to send the drug by post because it needs to be kept in the fridge, so suggested meeting in a cafe. But she admitted she had been anxious about the rendezvous, aware that she was doing something wrong. Laughing, she said: ‘I was a little afraid. I hoped he wasn’t like, “Hi, put your hands up!”’
She said she decided to sell her supplies because her doctor moved her to another drug, but her Ozempic prescription had not been stopped. She said she had another three pens in her fridge – claiming she bought them in Greece during a shortage in the UK – and could supply these and her monthly prescription dose until it ended in September.
Her medication was the ‘higher dose’ and they were all ‘verified’, she explained.
Handing over the Ozempic pen in exchange for £100 cash, she explained she had taken off the prescription label. Otherwise it looked authentic with a barcode and batch number.
When later asked for comment on the illegal sale, she messaged the undercover reporter to say she ‘did something wrong’ and offered to return the money. In subsequent emails she said she needed the money as she was about to be made homeless.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has previously warned that many unregistered online sellers of weight-loss jabs are actually selling fakes. The watchdog seized over 350 suspected fake pens in the first ten months of 2023 alone.
The health risks of these counterfeit jabs were starkly exposed when the Mail reported in December 2023 the harrowing story of mother-of-two Michelle Sword who fell into a diabetic coma and almost died after injecting herself with a weight-loss drug pen that she had bought on the internet.
The slim 45-year-old – who had only been trying to lose a few pounds – later discovered it was a fake and she had injected herself with pure insulin.
Commenting on the findings of our investigation, Andy Morling, MHRA deputy director of criminal enforcement, said: ‘Members of the public are advised not to use any pre-filled weight-loss pens they may have bought online and instead to report it to us so that we can investigate and take any necessary action.’
A spokesman for Meta, which owns Facebook, said: ‘We are investigating the ads brought to our attention and will take action on any content which violates our policies.’
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