Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help restrict the sale of illegal prescription drugs online.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the regulation of medicines for human use, medical devices, and blood products for transfusion in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

Sourcing medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not authorised for use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict quality and safety standards and could expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients. The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove, and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.

The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. In 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized almost 20 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of nearly £45 million.

During the same period, it disrupted over 1,500 websites and posts on social media accounts selling medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than two million unregulated prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices before they could be offered for sale to the public.

The MHRA is continually developing new and innovative ways to combat the illegal trade in medicines and to raise public awareness. These measures include:

- publication of a #Fakemeds campaign which explains how to access medicines through safe and legitimate online sources, with further information available at the following link:
https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/;

- public guidance on how to safely access and use GLP-1 medications, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know.

- implementation of a web-based reporting scheme allowing users to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA;

- rollout of an online service which will allow users to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA; and

- extensive work with media outlets to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal medicines.