Pharmacies have urged patients to avoid buying weight loss injections from unregulated suppliers as the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) predicts demand to surge in the new year.
The NPA, who represent around 6,000 independent community pharmacies, have issued fresh warnings about buying the injections from unregulated sellers posing as medical professionals as well as from social media and beauty salons.
These warnings come as new polling by YouGov, commissioned by the NPA suggests that 6% of adults are likely to use weight loss injections in the new year. This is the equivalent to 3.3 million people, NPA analysis suggests.
That would be two and half times higher than the estimated 1.5 million people using the jabs monthly in 2025.
The polling data suggests that 9% of 25-49 year olds are likely to take weight-loss jabs in the next year.
There have been reports that unregulated sellers have been become more sophisticated in recent months to lure patients, setting up websites that look very similar to legitimate regulated online pharmacies or online doctors.
Unregulated suppliers may be selling medicine that is fake, does not meet UK safety standards or has been swapped for other medication, such as insulin. This can have a serious impact on a patient’s health.
These sellers also do not provide any of the checks or wrap around support for patients which is required by regulators, including regular check ins, wider lifestyle support or even checking if a patient is eligible for treatment.
Patients can check to see if an online pharmacy is legitimate by looking to see if it is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“We expect a surge in the number of patients looking to start weight management treatments in the new year, as our analysis shows.
“However, there is a risk of criminals trying to take advantage of this, with unscrupulous fake sellers seeking to cash in.
“Not only are unregulated sellers breaking the law, they can cause serious damage to your health.
“With these scams becoming more sophisticated, it is really important that patients wanting to explore starting weight management treatment only go to regulated pharmacies, either online or in person on your high street.
“Community pharmacies can provide a patient with the care they need to achieve a sustainable weight loss, through wrap around support and careful lifestyle changes, where a patient is eligible for treatment.”
Notes:
* All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,074 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th - 19th December 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
** Adult population estimates are based on analysis by the NPA using 2025 Office for National Statistics data and as well as data complied by UNICEF.
*** The 1.5 million figures come from the March 2025 levels of sales of GLP-1 injections in the UK via statistics collected by IQVIA.
