Rise in illegal weight-loss drugs being smuggled into state
An increase has been recorded in the number of illegal 'knock-off' weight-loss drugs being smuggled into the state.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) announced yesterday that it had seized over one million units of illegal medicines in 2024, a 14% increase from the previous year.
While anabolic steroids, sedatives and erectile dysfunction medication made up close to half of the seized items, there has been a sudden rise in weight-loss drug seizures in the past three years. Weight-loss drugs. Pic: Getty Images
Gráinne Power, director of compliance at the HPRA, told Extra.ie: 'We've seen the numbers increase as we've seen the rise in the public awareness over the last few years. It's certainly something that's changing more quickly than others.'
In 2022, only 32 units of falsified semaglutide – the active ingredient in the prescription diabetes injection Ozempic – were seized. This rose to 286 units in 2023 and 1,225 units last year.
Seizures of falsified liraglutide, another weight-loss chemical, and fake Botox have also seen significant increases in the same period. Weight-loss drugs. Pic: Natalia GH/Shutterstock
Ms Power said: 'There's a general familiarity with these products and even some of the active ingredients. They wouldn't necessarily all have branded names on them.
'Some would, and they could either be products that are legitimate but that have fallen into the wrong hands or are medicines that have been made nowhere near companies that have the marketing authorisation for them.
'Whether it's an anabolic steroid, a pen that says Ozempic or a generic form of its active ingredients, they aren't legitimately on any market, so there's no safeguards in place for anyone taking them.'
REPORTING BY JAMIE MCCARRON
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