Unlicensed Weight-Loss Drugs Marketed as Social Media 'Prizes' in Dangerous Giveaways
Hidden-market promoters of weight-loss drugs are exploiting social media platforms to run "giveaway" competitions that offer powerful, unlicensed medicines as prizes. Investigations by The Guardian have uncovered groups on WhatsApp and Telegram promoting substances such as retatrutide, a drug not licensed in the UK, with some posts urging participants to enter within "just 24 hours" to claim injections. Experts have condemned these practices as "extremely dangerous," warning that digital marketing tactics are being misapplied to pharmaceuticals without proper regulatory oversight.
Illegal Competitions and Deceptive Marketing
One advert from a WhatsApp group named BioUK Research peptides 2, seen by The Guardian, used block capitals to announce: "Last chance to enter – 24 hours left!" It claimed to be their "biggest giveaway yet," offering an "ultimate peptide stack" including retatrutide (Reta) 20mg, Glow (GHK-Cu) pens, and melanotan II (MT2). Retatrutide is an experimental weight-loss drug not approved for use anywhere globally. Glow pens contain copper peptides marketed for skin repair, but pre-mixed pens for injection are not approved by the MHRA. Melanotan II is an unapproved tanning peptide that can cause adverse side-effects and is illegal to sell in the UK.
The competition required participants to add three friends to the group and follow accounts on TikTok and Instagram, with winners selected via a random name generator. A later video showed a spinning wheel with 85 entrants, highlighting the casual nature of these dangerous promotions. Guardian research identified dozens of registered companies with "Bio UK" in their name, but this WhatsApp channel is not believed to be associated with any legitimate entities.
Legal and Safety Concerns
Under UK law, substances like retatrutide are tightly regulated medicines, not harmless supplements. Weight-loss injections, including GLP-1 drugs, can only be supplied legally with a valid prescription and must be dispensed through licensed pharmacies or authorised healthcare providers. Drugs that have not been approved for medical use, such as retatrutide, which is still in clinical trials, cannot be marketed or sold to the public. Advertising or distributing prescription-only or unlicensed medicines through social media competitions may breach medicines regulations, and products from hidden-market sellers lack safety checks, quality controls, or medical oversight.
Emily Rickard, a research fellow at the University of Bath, stated: "Giveaways, countdown timers, and raffles are classic pressure tactics designed to override caution, yet they're being used to promote powerful, unlicensed injectable drugs. This not only trivialises the use of unlicensed medicines but actively discourages people from stopping to ask whether what's being offered is legal or appropriate. From a safety perspective, that is extremely dangerous." Dr Piotr Ozieranski, a reader in sociology at the University of Bath, added that "highly problematic digital marketing techniques" are being applied "to unregulated pharmaceuticals," promoting them as "prizes" rather than healthcare interventions requiring clinical oversight.
Deceptive Business Practices
A separate company, BioBlue Cosmetics, also operating as BioBlue Fitness, is selling so-called "skinny jabs" disguised as exercise programmes. Its website appears as a female-led online coaching platform with workout imagery and fitness plans fronted by trainers named Rita, Teressa, Carla, and Mary Jane. However, inquiries via linked WhatsApp and Telegram channels reveal that "coaching" is a coded reference to unlicensed weight-loss drugs. For instance, "Get fit with Rita" is used as shorthand for retatrutide, with administrators explaining that consumers are not signing up for workouts but for drug doses measured in milligrams.
By masking drug sales as coaching services, operators gain access to payment options intended for legitimate businesses, further complicating enforcement efforts. The channel's WhatsApp group has 1,024 members and promises next-day delivery, underscoring the scale and accessibility of these illegal operations.
Platform Responses and Regulatory Gaps
BioUK Research peptides 2 did not respond to requests for comment, while BioBlue Fitness deleted all messages in its Telegram channel, informing customers it had "changed settings." Telegram stated that the sale of illegal medication is explicitly forbidden by its terms of service and such content is routinely removed when discovered. Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, pointed to its Community Standards, which prohibit content attempting to buy, sell, trade, donate, or gift weight-loss products, with removal actions taken against violations.
This alarming trend highlights significant regulatory gaps in monitoring and curbing the illegal promotion of unlicensed medicines on social media, posing serious public health risks that demand urgent attention from authorities and platform operators alike.
