USERS WARNED OF DANGERS IN TIKTOK WEIGHT-LOSS DRUG

Patients lie to get hands on powerful jab

- LOUISE LAZELL

CONTROVERSIAL use of a diabetes drug for weight loss without an NHS prescription has been branded a loaded gun by eating disorder charities.

Anti-diabetic jab Ozempic, which is self-injected, can be bought online without seeing a doctor.

The weekly treatment has gone viral on TikTok with 430 million views of the hashtag.

But serious side effects include life-threatening pancreatitis, as well as vomiting and stomach pain.

DISORDERS

And this and other so-called skinny jabs” could be extremely dangerous for vulnerable people with eating disorders, experts warn.

Under NICE guidelines, Ozempic can only be prescribed on the NHS to people with Type 2 diabetes who meet certain criteria, such as having a BMI of 30 or more.

But the Sunday Mirror discovered the drug can easily be bought online and in beauty salons by people without diabetes.

Our reporter was able to purchase two lots of Ozempic a 0.5mg and a 1mg pen via a simple online health questionnaire without any face-to-face checks, phone calls or appointments, and lying that guy their BMI was above 30. W 4 4

And soon a similar anti-diabetic medication, Wegovy, is to be sold for weight loss in high street chemists, such Lloyds Pharmacy.