Three arrested in Selby after 'skinny jab' leaves woman in intensive care
Three women have been arrested after another woman ended up in intensive care following a weight-loss injection.
Two women, aged 32 and 37, were arrested on suspicion of administering a toxic substance. They have been released on bail.
A third, aged 58, was arrested on suspicion of selling or supplying a prescription-only medicine. She has been released under investigation.
All three, who are from Selby in North Yorkshire, were questioned after a woman had to be treated for internal injuries after using a jab allegedly given to her at a salon in the area.
Two other people are also known to have become unwell.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "The investigation remains ongoing and we urge members of the public to follow the advice from health professionals on the safe use of these products."
Health officials say buying products from unregulated suppliers greatly increases the risk of becoming unwell.
Andy Morling, director of criminal enforcement at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said: 'Weight loss medicines are powerful medications and should only be used under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.
'Buying so-called weight loss medicines from illegal suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving products that are either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK."
Some anti-obesity medicines, including well-known brands like Ozempic and Mounjaro, have been tested in clinical trials but are only available on prescription.
Laura Angus, of the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: 'There has been a lot of attention in the media and on social media about these so-called 'skinny jabs', but as with any medicines bought outside of legitimate supply chains, the contents may not match the ingredients on the label.
'If you use such products you could be putting your health at serious risk."
North Yorkshire Council's executive member for health and adult services, Cllr Michael Harrison. added: 'We would encourage people to pursue their health goals in a safe way."
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Weight-loss jabs can stop HRT working, doctors warn
Weight-loss drugs could stop hormone replacement therapy from working and increase the associated risks, guidance has warned. The British Menopause Society has told doctors to closely monitor any women who are on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the menopause and are also taking a weight-loss jab. The injections, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, also sold as Ozempic for diabetes, have revolutionised obesity treatment and are increasingly taken by people who are not obese but looking to lose a few pounds. But the drug's ability to delay the transit of food through the gut can slow the absorption of pills taken orally. It is one theory behind the so-called ' Ozempic baby boom '. Earlier this week, the medicines regulator issued a warning about the impact of weight-loss drugs on contraception after receiving more than 40 reports relating to pregnancies from women on the jabs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said women should 'not rely on oral contraception' and warned them not to use the injections if pregnant or trying to get pregnant because of a lack of safety evidence. Guidance has now suggested women taking HRT orally may also be at risk. There were 2.6 million women taking HRT in 2023-24 in England to help with symptoms of the menopause, which can include hot flushes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, and muscle aches. It typically onsets between age 45 and 55 and can last for a number of years. The most common form of HRT is a progesterone pill alongside a skin patch or gel to deliver oestrogen, although some women will be on a combined pill. The progesterone is important to balance out the effects of oestrogen, which on its own stimulates the growth of the womb lining, and can cause ' abnormal cells and cancer ' to grow. The loss of the protective effect of progesterone on the womb was the primary concern for the British Menopause Society, which recommended doctors move women to an intrauterine device, such as a Mirena coil, or increase the dose of progesterone. Prof Annice Mukherjee, a consultant endocrinologist and member of the society's medical advisory council, who led on the guidance, said an imbalance in the hormones, particularly among women with obesity, would put them 'at increased risk of womb cancer '. 'Oestrogen is almost always given through the skin for HRT in women living with obesity, but progesterone is frequently given as a tablet, and that formulation is thought to be the safest route for women who have complicated health issues,' she said. 'If we then start one of these injectable weight-loss drugs, then you're preferentially stopping absorption of the progestogen that's coming in orally, but you're allowing plenty of the oestrogen through the skin. 'The rules are very clear that if you give a very high dose of oestrogen and you don't give enough progesterone, however that happens, you're putting that woman at risk of womb cancer,' she said. Prof Mukherjee said there was currently a 'culture of putting women on very high doses of oestrogen', which can make the womb lining thicken. 'It's like having a lawn in a woman's womb. Oestrogen makes the lawn grow. Progestogen cuts the lawn. But if it's not being cut, it grows thicker, and then you can get abnormal cells and cancer.' But she also stressed that the biggest risk factor for womb cancer was obesity and so on the whole the weight-loss injections were a positive tool to reduce weight and cancer risk. 'These drugs reduce the risk of cancer,' she said. 'But if they are prescribed to a woman who's on oestrogen through the skin, and she might already have womb thickening because she's living with obesity, and she's not absorbing the progesterone because she's been put on a weight-loss injection, she's potentially getting loads of oestrogen on top of her thickened womb lining, and that could potentially unmask cancers that are there or drive an early cancer to a more advanced stage.' More than 1.5 million people in the UK are now taking weight-loss jabs, with demand doubling in the last six months. The overwhelming majority are accessing them privately from pharmacies at a cost of around £200 per month. It is not known how many people are on both drugs, but the British Menopause Society has created guidelines after calls from GPs for advice to give to patients. Dr Janet Barter, the president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, said there was 'a small but growing body of evidence that the new diabetes and weight loss drugs, which can bring really positive improvements to people's health, can also cause vomiting and severe diarrhoea in some patients'. 'Obviously this could render any medication, such as HRT tablets or oral contraception, ineffective if there hasn't been enough time for them to be fully absorbed,' she said. 'If these side-effects are occurring, then people should discuss the matter with their doctor or specialist clinician to find the combination of drugs that's right for them.'


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MARTEL MAXWELL: Dundee 'weight-loss wave' has me tempted by shortcuts
As summer approaches and holidays are planned, it is not unusual to notice a friend – or maybe two – looking fabulous. You do a double take when you see them – they look younger, fresher and thinner. The kind of dramatic weight loss that is transformative. Middle-age spread, pot belly, and puffy face gone. But here's the thing. And it's quite a thing. I'm double taking all the time. Give me any gathering of people in Dundee – school pick-up, kids' football match or a night out – and it's like a Slimming World magazine. Many will have found that oft elusive motivation to shed pounds (we all know how it works), to eat less and move more. Others – and not just the ones who admit to it – will have taken the short cut of injecting the new, increasingly-prominent, weight-loss drugs which suppress appetite and work to shift excess fat. More power to both camps – no judgement. But it's getting a bit Twilighty. It's like body snatchers are sneaking down to Dundee as night falls, replacing the lumpy and bumpy with Instagram-edited version of themselves – all flat stomachs and cheekbones. Regular readers of my column will know I've touched on this before, including last year when I discussed the Ozempic boom. I told you about a friend who admitted she was on the weight-loss jabs. She all but tapped her nose as we looked around the ladies' charity lunch we were at and said: 'Mark my words, women here are on it.' She told me she'd developed a sixth sense in telling who was on the medication. My friend was brilliantly honest, explaining how she paid for the jabs and how she couldn't shift the middle-aged spread which had taken her from a size 10 to 14. No clothes fitted and it was getting her down. She quickly lost a stone with the jabs but also admitted they affected her mood and made her a bit sick for the first few weeks. Another friend who's gone from a size 16 to 10 says she has had no side effects. She has more energy and claims the jabs took away her desire to drink as much alcohol, which was becoming a daily few glasses of wine after work. Fast forward eight months and sudden transformations are everywhere. I have also noticed an increase in people committing to sport, which is great. One friend is wild swimming twice a week while another is running ultra marathons. And one has even started her own CrossFit business – PeaceFit in Wormit. Many mutual friends attend her classes and look awesome – stronger, fitter and toned. I've noticed couples losing weight together. Going back to the jabs, I suppose it's too easy for the muffin tops like me to point a finger and say everyone's on them. But who wouldn't want a quick fix? A stone down for summer? The reintroduction of a bikini following a decade of covering up after kids and – if I'm entirely honest – dieting and sporadic exercise interspersed with occasional gluttony… I'm tempted myself. However, if something seems too good to be true, maybe, just maybe, it is. The jury is still out, with research pointing to the possibility of health complications involved with the jabs. This can be counter-argued with the fact obesity can cause diabetes, heart problems and cancer. Shifting weight if you're over 40 has the magical plus of shifting a few years in appearance too – puffy faces and pot bellies begone. Some of the people I'm seeing seem to have had a magical elixir of youth. If I sound envious, I probably am. Let me know if you've seen a younger, slimmer Dundee – and maybe even if you've taken a shortcut yourself. Bon appétit!