Slimming pens, weight loss jabs, slimming jabs, or weight loss injections: no matter how they are described or marketed, they are susceptible to a ferocious black market causing dangers to desperate buyers.
At Bodyline Clinics, we are terribly concerned about the almost daily news reports of the dangerous side effects and impacts of illegal weight loss medications being sold to unsuspecting people who are looking to lose weight.
The BBC, helped by scientists at the University of Sunderland, have been investigating the contents of the non-regulated fake slimming pens on the black market.
They found the medications were “riddled with toxins”, with barely any of the active ingredient, semaglutide, included in the injections, but rather insulin and a selection of “unknown compounds”.
That means that those people using the black-market weight loss jabs are taking life-threatening counterfeit medications, becoming violently ill and having to be rushed to A&E.
One thing that the victims of these fake slimming pens all had in common was how they sourced the medication. They used online black market sellers, unqualified beauty salons, and ‘friends of friends’ to access a prescription medication without a prescription.
Medications like semaglutide can legally only be prescribed by qualified and regulated healthcare professionals. They produce the results promised only when used within fully supported weight loss programmes like those at Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinic – one of the only fully trusted providers.
So how do you identify which slimming jabs are legitimate and which are illegal?
Well, here are a list of questions you should always ask before purchasing anything that is to be used as a medication, particularly injectables.
- Is the company regulated by healthcare regulators like the CQC?
- Can you speak to the prescriber face to face and check if they are qualified?
- Are you actually eligible for the medication, and have they verified this?
- Has the provider given extensive advice and promised to monitor side effects?
- Do they consider your lifestyle, medical history, and diet plan?
- Is it too good to be true?
Let’s explore these questions further to make it clear why these are vital for patient safety within a medical weight loss journey.
Is the company selling slimming pens regulated by healthcare regulators like the CQC?
Semaglutide is to be administered through SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS – meaning they must pierce the skin and offer the drug through your blood stream.
Health and safety are paramount for any medication, however if you are expected to inject yourself with a needle, ensuring the sterilization and medical grade quality of this equipment is about prioritising your life – let alone the contents of what is in the injection.
That’s why it’s crucial to ensure the place you are getting the medications from is kept in check by a regulatory body to ensure safety, verification of medication, as well as proper medical and healthcare practices. Otherwise, this seller is probably providing black market, illegal slimming jabs.
One regulatory body that is important in UK healthcare is the Care Quality Commission, also known as the CQC. They inspect healthcare facilities in the UK, including NHS hospitals, GP practices, and care homes, to ensure companies provide people with “safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care”.
Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinics is proud to be regulated by the CQC, with all our in-person clinics in the Northwest being rated as ‘good’.
We know how important it is to be certified and regulated so we can assure you we offer the highest quality of care when providing prescriptions to lifechanging medications like so-called skinny jabs. Independent suppliers you can contact through Instagram, or websites that do not publish their affiliations with regulatory bodies should be questioned and probably avoided.
Note, it is illegal in the UK to sell weight loss medication like semaglutide without a prescription, if they are not qualified to prescribe then they are not offering legitimate semaglutide and you will not be receiving safe weight loss jabs.
Can you speak to the prescriber face to face and check if they are qualified?
Using social media or a friend of a friend to source these medications for a small price may seem like a thrifty idea at the time, but it means that it is very tricky to gauge the prescriber’s experience, qualifications, and intentions – if they are even qualified to prescribe.
Face to face consultations in person in person or over a secure video call is a very small ask and while this alone does not assure safety, it does offer another layer of measuring legitimacy.
More questions to ponder: Are they clinically trained nursers or doctors, therefore qualified to prescribe? Do the people offering these weight loss injections provide extensive advice, nutritional guidance, and ongoing support? Do they have healthcare and wellness clinics that is regulated, clean, and safe? Do you have a face to face on-line consultation? Or are they offering injectable pens out of a salon, their home, or over social media?
At Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinics, the patient journey is quite clear:
- Our weight loss specialist customer services team discuss your weight loss goals and understand your medical history before taking you through the medical options we provide.
- If you are eligible for medical weight loss treatment they will arrange a medical consultation with one of our weight health nurses.
- We offer the choice of face-to-face specialist nurse consultants at one of our clinics or via an on-line consultation at home depending on your lifestyle and location.
- You will then have a consultation with a specialist weight loss nurse to decide the best treatment plan to achieve your weight loss goals, but we will take you through a full medical assessment before even considering offering a bespoke treatment plan.
- Our nurses and clinicians are qualified to prescribe, but they will contact your GP where necessary to confirm your eligibility and medical history.
- You will have continued monitoring and support when on a Bodyline weight health programme.
Are you actually eligible for the medication, and have they verified this?
Eligibility to be prescribed so-called skinny jabs like WeGovy (semaglutide) or Mounjaro (tirzepatide) involves several health checkers.
Your BMI is the main qualifier according to the government’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
You must have a BMI that qualifies you as obese (over 30) or a BMI that qualifies you as overweight (over 27) with weight health related problems like high blood pressure or prediabetes.
So, does the slimming jab provider check your BMI further than just asking the question?
If they aren’t verifying your answer, or even ask the question, it is quite clear they don’t care about the answer.
Here at Bodyline, we check blood pressure, we measure your height and weight, and we measure your weight circumference. We do this to calculate BMI, but we also like to have other weight health indicators to consider to paint a whole picture.
Even if you opt for an at-home consultation, we provide fully calibrated weight health kits to weigh yourself, measure your own waist, and check your blood pressure from home. This means we can ensure your health and weight indicators are conducive to the prescriptions even when we don’t see you in person.
We always check your medical history and any current prescription medications before prescribing weight loss treatments to ensure there are no contraindications (medicines that do not work well together), or medical problems that may get in the way.
While black market sellers may ask some questions before sending out the weight loss jabs, this is far from the comprehensive medical check that is required before prescribing this medication.
Has the provider given extensive advice and promised to monitor side effects?
Advice, guidance, and regular check-ins are vital to ensuring the best possible outcomes of weight loss medications like semaglutide or tirzepatide.
It’s one thing to provide medication, but it’s another thing to see tangible, sustainable weight loss results. These jabs have to be used alongside a fully supported and holistic diet and exercise regimen, one that can be sustained long after the prescription is done with to avoid piling the weight back on.
Ongoing consultations with prescribers should also monitor your side effects, your progress, and allow the qualified healthcare providers to titrate the treatment – that is slowly increase the dose to ensure safety and no adverse reactions.
Offering the medication, sending through the post, and dropping off a cliff are signs that this provider is not prioritising your health and wellbeing or the reactions to the medications.
Do they holistically consider your lifestyle, medical history, and diet plan?
Effective and sustainable weight loss doesn’t just happen overnight with medical weight loss injections or skinny jabs.
If you have lived with unhealthy habits that prevent you from losing weight for quite some time, then taking an injection once a week will do very little to help you lose weight for good. That means as soon as you stop using the medication, the weight will creep back on and that’s a scientific fact.
After 17 years of treating obesity and weight health, we know that looking at a person holistically is the only road to sustained success.
That means considering their lifestyle; how active they are day to day, how many calories they eat and should be eating, whether they are a parent, or whether they work from home. Also, it means considering medical history; any heart or cardiovascular problems, joint issues, ability to be active, the medications they take, allergies, and so on. And it means curating a bespoke diet and exercise plan with the patient, to make sure it actually works for them.
To ensure weight loss, advice and support is vital for a healthy and sustainable change.
At Bodyline, we offer professional, medically supported wellness programmes. Our team is headed up by a Clinical Director team and Clinical Nursing Leads, creating bespoke wellness journeys covering lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise ensuring long term positive results.
These bespoke journeys have helped over 100,000 people lose the weight and keep it off.
Contact Bodyline today to find out more about our safe and effective weight loss programmes and range of treatment options.
Does it seem too good to be true?
The crux of the matter is that dirt cheap social media or beauty salon sellers are generally too good to be true.
Weight management is about total lifestyle changes. If someone is promising dramatic weight loss with one magic injection they simply cannot be trusted.
If you are struggling to manage your weight and considering weight loss injections, look for clinical providers who are experienced in weight health and haven’t popped up out of nowhere with no previous work in the slimming industry.
Bodyline has been providing medical weight loss solutions for the best part of two decades, offering oral medications as well as semaglutide and now tirzepatide (Mounjaro).To find out more about safe and effective weight loss programmes with injectable medication prescriptions such as Wegovy and Mounjaro contact Bodyline by completing an online form for a call back or calling 0800 995 6036.
