Half a million on weight loss jabs

[Sadteacher]

Front page of The Times today! I wonder if we will be asked more how we have lost our weight now it is becoming more common! My friends still talk about them like they are something only celebrities use.

500,00 and growing! Goes on to say …

Julian Beach, MHRA’s interim executive director of healthcare quality and access, said: “The MHRA takes concerns about the illegal promotion of prescription medicines to the public very seriously. We consider complaints we receive about the alleged advertising of prescription-only medicines to the public, looking at each case on its own merits and, where appropriate, working with other regulators.”

He added that the regulator would “take appropriate action” where necessary, in order to “protect public health”.

A spokesperson from HeliosX, the parent company behind MedExpress, said that they sought to comply with UK legislation and regulations for prescription-only medicines.

They added: “Since MedExpress was founded ten years ago, we have provided customers who recommend us to their friends and family with a discount code that can be used across the entire service. Our terms and conditions are clear that these codes cannot be shared publicly and on social media networks or forums. In instances where this is not upheld we will take appropriate measures including cancelling credit.”

I’ve lost 7kg since starting 5 weeks ago.

I have tried losing weight unsuccessfully with so many diet fades. This is the only one to be proven to be successful and actually worth the money.

I’ve probably sent hundreds of diet pills, powders, meals substitutes and gym membership PT.

This has made me feel better, more diet control and weight loss. I think the cost is relative. I hope it the future it will be cheaper and more accessible on the NHS.

I’m not surprised and I think it will grow much faster as it gains publiciity and people start to see those around them losing weight. When they couldn’t do it before.

there is about 16 million in the USA on them, I suspect globally the number tops 50 million.

Love the defensive comment from ME! 😂

@IReallyNeedThisToWork maybe ME know they are in the regulator’s cross-hairs. You only have to look at the discount thread to see the volume of ME codes

I have read that both they and Curate have been investigated for bad practice with advertising so they are very much in the crosshairs! It’s the old ‘it’s not our fault. We can’t control what those pesky customers do with their referral codes’ defence!

Yh, well I was always ahead of things 🙂! I was doing intermittent fasting 2 years before it caught on!. IF just stopped working in my mid-50s (and who knows had maybe previously messed up my metabolism a bit 🤷‍♀️).

Does anyone have a version of the article that can be read in full?

Do you have Apple News? @Choux It is searchable on there

https://apple.news/A_XksWwfsRFO8LEXxySB8Zg

https://www.thetimes.com/article/a9d391de-ffc6-434b-9bc8-ef360f3b464b?shareToken=2505d4b8d591cb4874bdb5d15381437474*_

Remember, the food, alcohol and hospitality industries are going to be concerned at these figures- their clientele numbers are shrinking (ahem!) the muddying of the waters will be starting very soon. Expect lots of misleading articles to try to put off people from using WLIs because they’re ultimately bad news for a lot of businesses.

Yes, not to mention the diet industry, e.g. Slimming World etc.!

@Onand @Tusktusk they will need to change with the times. I was reading about restaurants in the US adding things on the menu for those on the jabs - protein laden pizza etc.
I wonder if the weight loss clubs will have the same queues in January they usually do.

I can certainly see fewer people wanting to join the clubs, the jabs actually make them look obsolete, a bit like Blackberry’s when the iPhones came out- the technology is light years ahead and the result’s undeniable.

Only those who perhaps for medical reasons cannot use the jabs or if they are one of the very few who they don’t agree with will be in those queues, because once people see the results for themselves why would you want to do SW or WW.

The main barrier preventing them from going absolutely viral is the cost. Hopefully those who find them initially expensive will realise the savings from not buying as much food will mean the prices are palatable.

The main barrier preventing them from going absolutely viral is the cost. Hopefully those who find them initially expensive will realise the savings from not buying as much food will mean the prices are palatable.

I do think the cost is largely offset by not buying as much food and alcohol. And clothes if you already have a stash of too small clothes you saved as you grew in size. But this has implications for the entire retail and leisure industries as:

People on Injections don't buy as much food in supermarkets
They delay buying non essential clothes till they hit target weight.
They eat out less and consume less when they do. Same for pubs and bars
Healthier people need less statins, heart drugs etc which has an impact on the profits of drug companies making them.
People on injections don't use SW, WW, buy diet books, may even cancel gym memberships as a way to afford the injections.

Wouldn't the queues for WW and SW still be popular with everyone who is overweight but under BMI of 30 who can't get the injections but still battle with weight loss?

I agree about the offsetting of the cost but for many they would need to see the savings immediately if they simply cannot afford to buy them to begin with. I really hope the prices come down because the low income obesity situation is dire and would have profound results for the general mood and motivation of a vast demographic.

well there wasn’t queues before the jabs so I doubt there will be queues now.

i think more and more people realise those clubs don’t work. Slimming world is appalling, telling people with weight issues they can eat unlimited pasta and potatoes for goodness sake,

weigtht watchers has a glp program, and has branded a drug in the us, so they are moving with the times.

slimming world are poo poohing them and declaring they don’t work long term, which is quite something when you consider 97 percent of their members regain the weight and then some, and it is evidenced people on mounjaro only gain and average of 14 percent of their body weight when coming off, ie 1.4 stone on a ten stone woman.

id assume slimming world will die out. Weight watchers got the memo and are acting on it.

A plea to all those trying to lose weight. I know how desperate it can be, but please know that some people need theses jabs for current medical problems
(diabetes and kidney disease) and are having a struggle to get them. Everybody should be able to get them for obesity, but the manufacturers are struggling to meet demand - part of the problem being getting the pens to deliver the drug.
Diabetics and kidney patients may end up on dialysis because of the shortage.

Being morbidly obese is a current medical problem that was severely affecting my health. Or does that not count??

What's your evidence for the claim that the increase in private prescriptions for Mounjaro is causing a shortage of injection pens for diabetics and for kidney patients?

Are you talking about the UK @Laneylane81? Have the NHS made an announcement?

MJ at least uses Kwikpen. I understood there was no issue in the supply of those ones.

Which medications are in short supply? As far as I am aware Mounjaro, which is by far the most used WLI for obesity, has no availability issues from Eli Lilly who are continuing to launch supply into more countries.

It is the responsibility of the NHS and government who have knowledge of demand/supply/contractual and price agreements with suppliers and knowledge of the risks/benefits to manage the supply of these medications within the UK if there are shortages, not the individual who will have little impact on NHS supply.

Obesity is also a "current medical problem" that really does kill and no one should hold off resolving their own significant health issues when they do not have visibility of the full picture.

I think we’ve only seen the start in the massive uptake of people on Mounjaro. I feel I have singled handedly had an effect as I’ve got so many friends and colleagues on it 😂

If the number of people joining the nonsense that is Slimming World reduces, that can only be a good thing imo.