"In the US alone, 12% of the population have reported using injectable weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy/Ozempic, Zepbound and Saxenda, over the past year. That's more than double the number recorded in early 2024. In European countries, demand is also on the rise: In the UK, for example, a survey found that 21% of the public had accessed an online or in-person pharmacy in the past year to obtain weight loss medication."
"Amid this rising demand, there is a "growing threat of illegal medicines being advertised and sold online," warned the European Medicines Agency in September 2025. These include counterfeit versions of a drug called retatrutide, which is still in clinical trials and, therefore, not yet approved for human use. Others include a substance called sibutramine, which has been banned in some countries. Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) says weight loss drugs account for a growing share of counterfeit and unapproved medicines intercepted worldwide."
"but the first is that the legitimate drugs are promoted as very effective, and demand has grown faster than supply. Celebrity use and promotion by social media fitness influencers have also helped normalize their use for weight loss. "There's so much hype that the general public sees this medication more as a lifestyle or vanity product rather than a highly regulated pharmaceutical used for the clinical treatment of diabetes and obesity," said Oksana Pyzik, Associate Profess"
12% of the US population reported using injectable weight loss drugs over the past year, more than double early‑2024 levels. In the UK, 21% of the public accessed online or in-person pharmacies to obtain weight loss medication. Demand is also rising in Germany despite out-of-pocket costs. The European Medicines Agency warned in September 2025 of illegal medicines being advertised and sold online, including counterfeit retatrutide and banned sibutramine. Interpol reports weight-loss drugs form a growing share of intercepted counterfeit and unapproved medicines. A UK seizure in October 2025 included thousands of injectable pens of retatrutide valued at about £250,000. Supply shortages, celebrity promotion, and social-media normalization are driving counterfeiting.
Read at www.dw.com
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