Black-market weight-loss drugs: The dangerous trend putting lives at risk

A GP shares her harrowing experience with a patient who suffered severe health issues after taking an unlicensed weight-loss drug, highlighting the urgent need for accessible, safe alternatives.

As a general practitioner with over two decades of experience, I thought I had encountered every possible health issue. However, a few months ago, I was confronted with a situation that left me deeply concerned about the well-being of many others.

The story began with a common complaint: persistent vomiting. Jane, a 35-year-old mother of two, reached out to me, unable to keep any food down. She described violent vomiting every hour but initially had no idea what was causing her symptoms.

Jane’s harrowing experience with Reta

After three days of no improvement, Jane contacted me again, even more distressed. She was still vomiting, experiencing intense nausea, and had been constipated for several days. It was only through persistent questioning that she revealed the cause: she had been taking an unlicensed weight-loss drug called Reta.

Retashort for retatrutide, is an experimental drug developed by Eli Lillythe same company behind the popular weight-loss drug Mounjaro. Clinical trial data suggests that Reta can help patients lose up to a third of their body weight, earning it the nickname the ‘Godzilla shot‘. However, Reta is not yet licensed and cannot be legally dispensed.

What makes this situation particularly alarming is that Reta is not even available for sale yet. Illicit drug manufacturers have reportedly created their own versions of Reta in underground laboratories and are selling them illegally, either online or through street drug dealers. The contents of these vials are uncertain; they could contain Reta, Mounjaro, or something entirely different.

Jane was unaware of what she was injecting. She had obtained Reta from a friend who purchased it online and had administered it three times over three weeks. While it’s easy to criticize Jane’s decision, I understand the desperation that drove her to try Reta. She had struggled with her weight for over a decade, trying various diets and exercise routines without success. The high cost of licensed weight-loss treatments, at £200 a month, was prohibitive for her.

The devastating consequences of black-market weight-loss drugs

Three months after taking Reta, Jane is still seriously unwell. She continues to vomit daily, experiences persistent nausea, and has even stopped menstruating. Most concerning of all, she is unable to eat, even the lightest and blandest foods. Jane sought to improve her relationship with food but has instead complicated it further and potentially caused permanent damage to her body.

Jane’s case is not an isolated incident. A new survey published today reveals that a quarter of GPs have treated severely unwell patients who took black-market weight-loss drugs. To test the accessibility of these drugs, I searched for Reta on social media and found multiple sellers within minutes. Every day, people are injecting themselves with these untested substances, with no way of knowing what they contain.

The paradox of pharmaceutical scepticism and black-market drug use

In recent years, I have noticed a significant increase in scepticism towards pharmaceutical drugs. More mothers are refusing to vaccinate their children, and older patients express concerns about taking statins due to online warnings. However, thousands of people are willing to try untested drugs obtained from dubious social media accounts. This contradiction highlights the extreme lengths people will go to in their quest to lose weight.

This situation also underscores the urgent need for better access to licensed weight-loss drugs on the NHS. Over two million Britons now pay for these treatments privately, while fewer than 220,000 receive them through the NHS. If the government does not address this widening inequality, we will continue to see patients like Jane, driven by a desire to be healthier but ending up severely ill.