Amid weight loss drug boom, UK pharmacies urge tougher rules for online sales
The United Kingdom’s pharmacies are calling for tougher restrictions on online sales of blockbuster weight loss drugs amid concerns that they are being inappropriately prescribed.
The UK’s National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents independent community pharmacies, said regulators should require prescribers to have more consultation with patients, such as to discuss their medical history and potential risks, before dispensing the weight loss jabs and other higher-risk medicines.
That could mean a phone call or face-to-face discussion rather than relying on an online questionnaire, NPA said.
“We are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records,” NPA chair Nick Kaye said in a statement.
The group also said high-need patients, such as those with type 2 diabetes, should get priority access to the drugs.
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The warning comes amid a rise in popularity for weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, which the UK government is rolling out in phases.
The drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, are prescribed to treat obesity or type 2 diabetes and work by suppressing people’s appetites.
Last week, a major analysis found the medicines can lower the risk of a slew of other health problems, including addiction, schizophrenia, blood clotting, chronic kidney disease, respiratory problems, and neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
But they are also associated with a higher risk of gastrointestinal problems, low blood pressure, fainting, arthritis, kidney stones, a form of kidney disease, and drug-induced pancreatitis, the analysis found.
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Last year, the UK government and the European Union’s medicines regulator warned people against buying weight loss drugs from unlicensed sellers online, for example on social media or fake pharmacy websites as they could be counterfeit drugs.
Kaye said that while online pharmacy services aren’t a problem overall, “medicines are not like ordinary goods for sale” and “must be handled with great care”.
Some patients have been prescribed weight loss drugs inappropriately, the NPA added, including people with a history of eating disorders and people with lower body mass indexes (BMI), “putting them at greater risk of severe adverse effects”.
