The so-called weight loss injections are actually a remedy for diabetes and are only very rarely prescribed to obese patients. They can cause serious side effects, says the German public media outlet ARD.
Prescription - after answering a few questions
Reporters from ARD checked out how ordering is done online. On a platform that advertises itself as offering medical and pharmaceutical services, they only had to answer a few questions online. Some of them, for example, were given false information about their weight, and no direct contact with a doctor was made - neither by email, nor by video link, nor by phone.
A few days later, the Eli Lilly weight loss injection Mounjaro was delivered for 387.92 euros. On the Internet, the reporters found drugs from other manufacturers and made four more attempts to order online. In three of them, they were refused, but the fourth attempt was successful and the journalists obtained the drug Ozempic from the manufacturer Novo Nordisk - again only after filling out a questionnaire in which they manipulated some of the answers, and again without consulting a doctor. The medicine cost 199 euros.
In both cases, the prescriptions for the syringes were issued by a doctor abroad.
The supply is high, the control is weak
Dietitian Hans Hauner is very critical of issuing prescriptions for weight loss injections based solely on a questionnaire. “In my opinion, it is about quick profits. There is a legal framework that generally promises a lot, but in which the control is not sufficient. Accordingly, people who want to make money quickly do not encounter any difficulties.”
Consumer advocates also criticize the platforms and the use of questionnaires. “It can be very easy to get the injections,”, Geza Schölgens from the Consumer Protection Center in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia told ARD. “Our impression is that many of the companies offering the drug are not targeting obese patients, but rather vanity customers."
The Federal Medical Chamber told ARD that it could not comment on specific offers. Furthermore, it could not assess under what conditions doctors in the respective non-EU country are entitled to prescribe the drug. According to German law, there should at least be a conversation with a doctor. “Filling out a questionnaire without personal contact between patient and doctor is not enough", the chamber noted.
Manufacturers distance themselves
Both portals, where reporters were able to order, left their inquiries unanswered. And the two manufacturers - Ely Lilly and Novo Nordisk - have responded that they are firmly against the use of their products for cosmetic purposes.
On platforms like TikTok, weight loss injections and slim figures are a real fashion - losing weight has been turned into an ideal, it is full of young women who share extreme ideas about diets and losing weight.
In June, TikTok removed one of the hashtags advertising weight loss, but in its place another one immediately appeared - no less harmless. The company states that they generally do not allow content that encourages eating disorders or dangerous weight loss actions, and accordingly limit access to videos that idealize certain body types.
In front of ARD, Judith, who refuses to give her full name, tells how she fell victim to such advice from the network: “I watched and said to myself - they all eat less than me, so I should eat less too.” This led to mental stress, illness and the need for specialized medical care.
Uncontrolled market
The desire to lose weight, promoted by social media, hides dangers, summarizes ARD. And sales of weight loss injections as a cosmetic product seem to be reaching new dimensions. German investigative journalists have uncovered numerous advertisements for the injections, not only by celebrities or influencers, but also by the portals that offer them.
This is not permitted because it involves prescription-only medications, but it is possible because there is no market control, says Geza Schölgens from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center. "If no one notices it, if no one pursues it or reports it, everything can continue as it is," she adds.
Authors: Maggie Goeppert | Karina Parke (ARD)