ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry and Senior Producer Liz Little investigate the “lethal” skinny jab black market
ITV News has filmed undercover at a ‘skinny jab party’ where unlicensed weight-loss injections were illegally sold.
Undercover journalists were able to buy pre-filled syringes of semaglutide, some of which contained ten times the recommended dosage.
One doctor described it as “unethical” with potentially “lethal” consequences.
The undercover filming was part of a months-long investigation by ITV News and the Tonight programme into the skinny jab black market, which also found videos on social media of an NHS employee illegally promoting weight-loss jabs.
ITV News bought skinny jab pens via an Instagram account, which had posted some of the videos, and tests later revealed the substance was unfit for human use.
Weight-loss medications can only be legally and safely dispensed with a prescription from a healthcare professional.
It is against the law to advertise prescription-only medications.
But with more people than ever living with obesity, long NHS waiting lists for weight-loss drugs and high private costs, many are turning to risky alternatives.
Social media is flooded with content promoting and selling unlicensed and potentially dangerous products.
Among the thousands of illegal adverts, ITV News found a Facebook post offering a ‘skinny jab party’.
It read: ‘If you host a skinny jab party at your home for five guests… The host gets to pick £120 worth of treatments for free. Inbox me for details.’
Our undercover journalists, posing as a group of women on a hen do, arranged to meet the woman.
In secretly recorded footage, she asked the group how much weight they wanted to lose before the wedding, without checking their age, BMI or medical history.
She confirmed she was not a healthcare professional and claimed to be selling Mounjaro – the brand name for the weight-loss drug tirzepatide.
She was recorded saying that she buys it “in bulk” from a pharmacy in powder form and mixes it herself, so she can supply it “cheaper”.
The ‘skinny jab party’ included a demonstration of how to use the drug, in which the woman injected herself in the stomach with a needle she had stored in a Tupperware container.
When asked about the potential risks, she told the group that they could “get sick” and have diarrhoea.
She said she’d had two customers who had “been very sick”, but it was “always the really skinny girls”.
She told them people had died, but they weren’t her clients.
They paid £120 each for a six-week supply – except for the ‘bride’, who got hers free.
The woman gave each of the undercover journalists a colourful envelope tied with a ribbon, containing the pre-filled syringes.
ITV News had the syringes tested in a laboratory and found they did not contain any tirzepatide, as the seller had claimed.
Tests revealed they contained another prescription-only weight-loss drug, semaglutide.
Some of the syringes had ten times the recommended dosage.
ITV News showed the undercover footage to Dr Semiya Aziz, a GP who regularly prescribes weight-loss drugs.
Dr Aziz said she was “angry” watching the medication being distributed at a party, describing it as “illegal and unethical”.
She said the “unsterile” syringes were “scary” and that “someone could end up in hospital” after using them, which could be “lethal”.
The woman who provided the skinny jab party told us that she had been “scammed” by the pharmacy which supplied the drugs.
She said she always explains the positives and negatives of the product she sells and gets many recommendations from her clients who are happy with her work.
She said she only wanted to help people and that she would learn from this experience.
ITV News tracked a number of other online sellers exploiting those who are desperate to lose weight.
We found videos of a woman in an NHS uniform, recorded in what looks like a clinical setting, illegally promoting unlicensed weight loss drugs.
Our investigation confirmed that the woman is called Victoria and she worked for an NHS Trust in North West England until December 2024.
In one video posted to Instagram, she said: “I’ve worked in the medical industry now for 23 years.”
Some videos offered “vials” of weight-loss medications for a “fraction of the price” or “two for one” deals on disposable pens.
ITV News contacted an Instagram account, which had posted some of the videos, asking how to buy the jabs.
We were directed to a WhatsApp account and were sent a product price list and payment details.
After transferring £170, two ‘Raw Pharma Semaglutide’ pens were sent in the post.
ITV News understands the WhatsApp account and ‘Raw Pharma’ are linked to British man Dale Dennis, who is currently living in Thailand.
While Dale uses the name ‘Raw Pharma’, there’s no suggestion he’s linked to other businesses with the same name.
Dale appears in dozens of social media videos offering sales of unlicensed drugs.
He also presented a podcast, in which he introduces a video of Victoria, describing her as a Raw Pharma “partner” and “nurse”.
ITV News has confirmed Victoria was not a nurse, but she did work for the NHS.
The ‘Raw Pharma Semaglutide’ pens we received were tested in a laboratory.
Scientists found they contained no trace of semaglutide, were contaminated with bacteria and “not fit for human use”.
Dr Stephen Childs, Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Sunderland, described the pens as some of the “most concerning” he had seen.
Dr Childs said the “considerable contamination” could cause an allergic reaction or serious infection.
“Someone’s bought this under the impression it’s been tested and that it’s a safe product. That’s clearly not a process these types of products go through – unlike genuine pharmaceuticals.”
ITV News tried to contact Dale Dennis. He didn’t respond to any of the allegations put to him.
He said that he has a “company that sells consultations” and that he is “not affiliated” to Victoria.
Dale said he would be interested in an interview, but when ITV News tried to arrange it, he didn’t reply.
Victoria did respond, saying she “does not have a commercial relationship with Dale Dennis or his companies”.
She told ITV News that Dale asked her to do a “review” of the products, which she did on a “few occasions”.
But she said she did not know the videos would be “edited” to be used as “a sales pitch” and that “under no circumstances” was she informed it “would be used for advertising”.
She said she has “never facilitated” the sale of weight loss drugs.
In response to our investigation, the medicines regulator said staff are working “round the clock” to tackle the skinny jabs black market.
Head of the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, Andy Morling, told the Tonight programme they “are taking it very seriously”.
“We are stopping it happening. We have a number of investigations ongoing at the moment. We’re tackling the supply of these products by taking out the criminals that sit behind them,” he said.
“We work very closely with social media companies to try and remove illegally trading websites and we’ve removed several hundred illegal postings on Facebook and other social media outlets over the last two years.”
A Department of Health and Social care spokesperson told ITV News: “This is completely unacceptable. These are unlicensed medicines with potentially serious side effects and should under no circumstances be used for cosmetic purposes .
“There can be real health benefits if these treatments are provided safely to the right patients, and it is deeply concerning that individuals are flouting these rules and putting others at risk.
“Healthcare regulatory bodies such as the MHRA have the powers to investigate and act against any individual who is illegally supplying counterfeit products, and is taking action to do so.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
