LONDON, Feb 24 (KUNA) -- England announced on Tuesday that General Practices (GPs) will be offered GBP 3,000 bonuses annually for prescribing patients weight loss drugs to counter "rogue prescribers".
In a statement, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said, "Outside the NHS, we've seen those who can spare the cash buying privately, and the proliferation of rogue prescribers peddling dangerous unlicensed drugs that are putting patients at risk." He affirmed, "I'm determined that access should be based on need, not ability to pay, adding, "Investing in general practice will help bring this modern medicine to the many, not just the few, and help shift the focus of the NHS from treatment to prevention." Last summer, the National Health Service (NHS) rollout a mass weight loss injections campaign; however, millions of Britons seek to access the drugs through private means.
In various occasions previously, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned against the serious risks of buying weight-loss products from unregulated websites and social media, which may cause heart problems and other ill side effects.
The MHRA revealed back on January 26 that 5,000 illegally traded glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) products, weight loss drug, were seized.
It indicated that weight-loss drugs were among almost 20 million doses of illegally traded medicines seized in 2025 by the agency's Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU), with a street value of around GBP 45 million. (end) gta