Liverpool Woman Lands in ICU 18 Hours After Illegal Weight-Loss Jab
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 14
Liverpool Woman Lands in ICU 18 Hours After Illegal Weight-Loss Jab
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 14
Chloe, a Liverpool woman using a pseudonym, said one black-market injection left her vomiting for days, collapsing in A&E and spending about 18 hours in intensive care.
One dose triggered severe complications because she has type 1 diabetes; she was off work for more than three months and said doctors warned of possible long-term liver damage.
GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are legal in the UK only by prescription, generally for obesity, but Chloe said illegal sellers were easy to find after beauticians refused her.
Doctors and campaigners say the underground trade can involve shared pens, wrong substances and poor storage, with Save Face saying some seized products contained no GLP-1 ingredient and even windscreen wash.
Cost and access are part of the pressure: private doses can reach £300 a month, while NHS eligibility remains tight despite NICE estimating 3.4 million people could qualify for Mounjaro.
Are people being forced to choose between bankruptcy, decade-long waits, or the deadly black market for weight loss drugs?
As regulators seize millions in fake jabs, is this crackdown unintentionally making the black market more dangerous and profitable?
Is social media's 'skinny jab' craze creating a public health crisis that medicine alone cannot solve?
Black Market Weight-Loss Jabs in the UK: 2025 Deaths, Health Risks, and the Urgent Fight Against Illegal Supply
Overview
In 2025, the tragic death of Karen McGonigal in Salford was linked to black market weight-loss jabs, highlighting the severe dangers of unregulated medicines. Health officials, including the Health Secretary and MHRA, described her loss as shocking and avoidable, stressing the risks of buying from illegal online suppliers who often sell falsified or unlicensed products. Another serious case in Selby saw a woman hospitalized after using a similar jab. These incidents prompted urgent government action to combat criminal suppliers and raised public awareness about the life-threatening consequences of using unregulated weight-loss drugs.