
Warning fat jab supplies could run out as demand surges with 1 in 5 people trying to buy them last year
Pharmacists warn that ballooning demand 'goes far beyond what is clinically deliverable'.
Millions of Brits are thought to be using fat-busting jabs such as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic.
A poll for the National Pharmacy Association found one in five people, 21 per cent, attempted to buy a fat jab from a pharmacy in the past year.
The figure shoots up to 35 per cent among 25 to 34-year-olds.
NPA chairman Olivier Picard said: 'It's clear from this polling that many more people are interested in getting weight-loss jabs than would actually be suitable for treatment.
' Weight-loss jabs are one of the biggest drug innovations this century but we want to make sure supplies are carefully managed so that those in most need can benefit.
'We're also urging the Government to bring forward plans to include pharmacies in the roll-out of their NHS weight management programme.'
The NHS has increased its roll-out of fat jabs by offering Mounjaro through GP practices, but only 220,000 people are likely to get it by 2028.
It could take 12 years to reach everyone who is eligible, so millions are expected to buy them privately.
But experts fear such strict access will drive patients to dodgy online sellers who put their health at risk.
The poll also found 41 per cent said they would get the jabs on the NHS if they could, even if they were not obese.
Watch Ellen's weight loss journey on fat jabs
Rules on online prescribing have been tightened to prevent people pretending to be heavier than they are to quality.
The injections cause the body to burn fat by turning off hunger signals and stopping you eating.
Prescriptions in England for Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy rocketed from 1.4million in 2023-24 to 2.7million last year.

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