A new daily weight loss pill, also designed to treat diabetes, is now on sale in pharmacies and online across the UK.
The tablets, made by the US pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, have already been approved for private sale while discussions are going on with the medical spending watchdog NICE, which could make them available on the health service.
Pharmacists say it will make the treatment much easier for people who can’t tolerate injections.
There are warnings, though, of a lack of rigour in the way the drugs can be obtained without an in-person consultation.