{"id":283939,"date":"2026-02-06T13:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/283939\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:09:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:09:29","slug":"serious-harm-city-pharmacists-warning-over-rocketing-unlicensed-weight-loss-jab-seizures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/283939\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Serious harm’ – city pharmacist’s warning over rocketing unlicensed weight loss jab seizures"},"content":{"rendered":"

A growing volume of unlicensed sellers are operating throughout the UK\"There<\/p>\n

There is a rise in unlicensed weight loss injections throughout the UK(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A Birmingham pharmacist has warned the public over the ‘serious harm’ of purchasing weight loss medication online.<\/p>\n

Ahsan Bhatti, the superintendent pharmacist at Frankley Pharmacy in Rubery said, illegal online sellers were using more sophisticated methods such as AI to target people seeking weight loss injections.<\/p>\n

After a Freedom of Information Request, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed a growing volume of unlicensed sellers were operating throughout the UK.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: New music festival organised by Brummies is ‘built on Birmingham energy’<\/a><\/p>\n

The request revealed 5,851 falsified or unlicensed weight loss injections were seized by the MHRA last year; a huge rise from the 407 in 2023.<\/p>\n

Ahsan said: \u201cWeight-loss medicines are prescription-only for a reason. They\u2019re powerful treatments that require proper clinical assessment and ongoing oversight.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, we\u2019re seeing more people using websites or social media sellers offering shortcuts, often at lower prices, without any meaningful checks – and that\u2019s concerning for patients and the wider healthcare sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legitimate UK pharmacies must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and clearly display their registration details, the name of the superintendent pharmacist and a physical UK address.<\/p>\n

Another warning sign is lack of consultation; Ahsan advised that any pharmacy offering prescription medicines without a thorough medical questionnaire or assessment should raise immediate concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cA proper consultation should look at medical history, existing conditions and suitability for treatment. If that step is missing, patient safety is being compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unregulated medicines can pose serious health risks, including incorrect dosing, contamination or unknown ingredients.<\/p>\n

Without proper prescribing and follow-up, patients may miss early signs of side effects or complications.<\/p>\n

Ahsan added: \u201cWeight-loss medicines are not suitable for everyone and should only be prescribed following appropriate clinical assessment.<\/p>\n

“\u201cTaking a few minutes to check credentials and understand the process can make the difference between safe treatment and serious harm.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A growing volume of unlicensed sellers are operating throughout the UK There is a rise in unlicensed weight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[136808,103,61,60,136809,371,136810],"class_list":["post-283939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-frankley","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-longbridge","tag-medication","tag-rubery-and-rednal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}