Pharmacies to require more checks before selling weight-loss jabs

Online pharmacies will now have to employ stricter checks to stop people who are already a healthy weight or have a history of eating disorders buying weight-loss jabs.

They will no longer be able to dispense the medication, sold under brand names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, to patients who have just completed online questionnaires or sent photos.

In-person or video consultations will be required, to verify patient body mass index (BMI), along with information from GP or medical records.

And pharmacists failing to follow this new guidance could face enforcement action, including fitness-to-practise investigations or inspections, and conditions such as improvement plans, the General Pharmaceutical Council says.

The GPhC is worried about about both unsafe prescribing and potential supply issues, with some online pharmacies reportedly setting targets to process a certain number of prescriptions per hour.

And prescribers will be told to “actively” share with a patient’s GP information about what they are dispensing.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said: “We know online pharmacy services can provide a very valuable service – but through our inspections and investigations, we’ve seen too many cases of medicines being supplied inappropriately online and putting people at risk.”

Weight-loss drugs are now classed as “high risk” medicines, requiring extra safeguards, and are offered on the NHS with very strict criteria.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide were first used to help type 2 diabetes patients regulate their blood-sugar levels.

But in the past three to four years, they started being prescribed as a weight-loss aide, leading to global shortages and counterfeit products.

Both are given as weekly injections via pre-filled pens self-administered into the upper arm, thigh or stomach.

And patients generally start on a low dose, which is gradually increased.

The drugs mimic the intestinal hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is released after eating and typically makes people feel fuller.

Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) also affects the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) hormone, which controls metabolism and helps regulate energy balance.

The first study into weight-loss drugs has found they can significantly improve heart health, with lower levels of heart attacks, stroke, heart failure and high blood pressure.