Fake Weight Loss Drugs Are a Public Health Problem
You’ve heard the catchy commercials. You’ve read the news coverage. You might even have personal experience. The mainstream awareness and conversation about using prescription medications for diabetes and obesity are nearly impossible to ignore. But did you also know that counterfeit and compounded versions of these injectable medicines are increasing in sales, threatening the health of patients and the safety of the U.S. drug supply?
A study published recently in JAMA Network Open exposed the reality that nearly half of online pharmacies selling weight-loss drugs are doing so illegally — without licenses or patient prescriptions. The FDA also just released an alert about “adverse events, some requiring hospitalization” related to dosing errors associated with compounded weight-loss products. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised.
In my work as a pharmacist and board member for the Partnership for Safe Medicines, I’ve researched dangers and followed expert warnings about the rise in third-party interference as demand for prescription weight-loss medications has far exceeded supply.
Excerpted from The Hill
