Nearly half of online semaglutide sellers are illegal, drugs dangerous: Study

AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE TURN TO MODERN MEDICINE TO HELP THEM SHED SOME WEIGHT… A NEW STUDY FINDS AN ALARMING TREND.

NEARLY HALF OF ALL ONLINE PHARMACIES SELLING SEMAGLUTIDE (sem-uh-GLUE-tide) – ARE DOING SO ILLEGALLY.

SEMAGLUTIDE IS THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN NOVO NORDISK’S POPULAR WEIGHT LOSS DRUG WEGOVY.

THE F-D-A HAS WARNED CONSUMERS OF THE DANGERS OF BUYING WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS ONLINE – BECAUSE MANY ARE FAKE AND CAN BE DANGEROUS – AND THIS NEWS STUDY BACKS THAT UP.

RESEARCHERS FOUND 42 PERCENT OF ONLINE PHARMACIES SELLING SEMAGLUTIDE DRUGS ARE OPERATING WITHOUT A VALID LICENSE AND SELLING THE MEDICATION *WITHOUT* A PRESCRIPTION.

WHILE SEMAGLUTIDE DRUGS ARE APPROVED BY THE F-D-A FOR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT… HIGH DEMAND FOR PRESCRIPTIONS HAS CAUSED SHORTAGES OF *LEGITIMATE* DRUGS – WHICH HAS LED TO WHAT SOME EXPERTS CALL A “BLACK MARKET” OF ILLEGAL KNOCKOFFS. 

THE STUDY FOUND DRUGS ORDERED FROM THESE ILLEGAL WEBSITES CONTAINED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SEMAGLUTIDE THAN LABELED – WHICH CAN BE DANGEROUS. 

ADDITIONALLY, ONE SAMPLE ALSO SHOWED SIGNS OF POTENTIAL BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION.

MANY PEOPLE TURN TO THE INTERNET BECAUSE THEIR INSURANCE PLANS WON’T PAY FOR THE INJECTIONS OR THEIR DOCTORS WON’T WRITE THEM A PRESCRIPTION – BUT THIS RESEARCH SHOWS IT MIGHT NOT BE WORTH IT. 

FOR THE STUDY, RESEARCHERS ORDERED SEMAGLUTIDE FROM VARIOUS WEBSITES.

THEY FOUND THOSE SAMPLES HAD UP TO 39 PERCENT MORE SEMAGLUTIDE THAN INDICATED ON LABEL – WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN OVERDOSE. 

THE RESEARCHERS SAY FROM JANUARY TO NOVEMBER 20-23 ALONE –  POISON CONTROL CENTERS ACROSS THE U-S REPORTED NEARLY 3-THOUSAND CALLS INVOLVING SEMAGLUTIDE.