Experts are warning that fake weight-loss treatments could become more prevalent as tablet forms of the medications, currently available only via injections in the UK, are launched.
They say stronger regulation and enforcement are needed to prevent fraudsters from cashing in on tablets which will be easier to counterfeit.
While pill forms of weight-loss medications are expected to be much cheaper, and hence more accessible than injectable versions, experts have warned they are also an easier target for fraudsters.
“Pills are much easier prey for scammers than injectables as they require relatively accessible equipment to manufacture the pill – something to mix the powders and a pill press – and can provide the scope for vast production,” said Bhavik Patel, a professor of clinical and bioanalytical chemistry at the University of Brighton.
Dr Bernard Naughton, an associate professor and researcher in pharmaceutical regulation and innovation at Trinity College Dublin, said counterfeit pills could include medications taken out of the legitimate supply chain – and potentially stored incorrectly – while they could also be contaminated, or contain an incorrect dose, incorrect active ingredient or no active ingredient at all.
“We can see already that there have been some examples of the injections being falsified,” said Naughton. “It’s relatively easy to just create a pill and, if you’ve got good packaging, to falsely put it forward as the legitimate product.”
Source: The Guardian, 24 January 2026
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