Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the health risks associated with (a) unlicensed or (b) illicit medicines among patients in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use 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 weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving a product which is either falsified or not authorised for human use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict standards for quality, safety, and efficacy and can therefore expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.

Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. 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. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized approximately 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £37 million.

During the same period, it disrupted approximately 190,000 website and social media links responsible for advertising medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than 1.5 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;

• development of an online service which allows the public to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA;

• development of a web-based reporting scheme allowing the public to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA; and

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

The MHRA’s continued efforts have led to more medicines being seized than ever before, significant custodial sentences for offenders, the forfeiture of criminal profits and considerable success in disrupting the illegal supply of medicines.