Health

Illegal sales of bodybuilding steroids, Botox and cancer-causing fake tan drugs on the rise, latest data indicates

Among products seized by HPRA last year were sedatives, erectile disfunction and weight loss drugs

Medicines seized by the Health Products Regulatory Authority last year as a result of not being sold through proper channels. They were displayed by the authority at a press briefing on Thursday. Photograph: Colm Keena

Colm Keena
Thu Mar 28 2024 - 13:46

Worrying indications of an increase in the illegal sale of “body image” medicines, such as anabolic steroids to boost muscle growth, Botox to smooth wrinkles, and a product that when sniffed gives a suntan have been noted by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), which regulates medicines and medical devices.

The increased seizure of such products is mirrored by an increase in their online promotion for sale over the internet, said Gráinne Power, director of compliance with the authority.

“If you want these medicines for aesthetic purposes, going online or getting them from anyone who is not a trained medical professional is a mistake,” she said.

During 2023 the authority seized 874,945 dosage units of falsified or illegal medicines and worked with social media companies to close down access to or amend 2,348 websites, ecommerce listings and/or social media pages that were promoting the illegal sale of medical products.

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Sedatives (294,145) were the highest category of medicine seized, followed by anabolic steroids (250,922), erectile dysfunction medicines (84,119), analgesic (painkiller) medicines (42,307), and stimulants (24,530) – including substances reportedly used by students when trying to stay awake to cram for exams.

These medicines are or can be dangerous when taken without medical advice and there is no way of knowing what products bought outside the regulated system actually contain or where they come from, Ms Power said. Some medicines, including Botox, have to be kept chilled when being transported and failure to do so can cause serious problems.

The dangers of anabolic steroids include heart failure, liver issues, kidney damage and infertility. “You will find, by a simple search of the internet, coroners’ cases, in the recent past, which have been linked to the use of anabolic steroids.”

The level of illegal anabolic steroid detection has been increasing over recent years and rose by more than 20 per cent in 2023.

“We believe young men in particular may be sourcing anabolic steroids for body enhancement while being unaware of the serious health complications posed by these products,” Ms Power said.

In a recent decision in the Circuit Court, a two-year sentence was imposed for the keeping for supply of anabolic steroids for sale outside the regulatory system. The scale of the illegal supply of anabolic steroids indicates the involvement of criminals. “There is serious money to be made,” Ms Power said.

The authority drew attention to a sharp increase in the detection of illegal substances aimed at fighting wrinkles, promoting tanning and promoting weight loss.

The number of units of Botox seized has gone from 26 in 2020 to 339 in 2022 and to 1,748 last year, while the number of units of Melanotan 2, a nasal spray to promote tanning, has gone from 790 in 2021 to 1,329 last year.

“If you sniff it up your nose you get a tan, but you might also get skin cancer,” Ms Power said of Melanotan 2. “You will certainly get a headache.”

Botox can cause severe localised skin damage. The authority is also concerned about the rise in the number of units of semaglutide and liraglutide, which are products aimed at suppressing hunger but should not be used in the absence of medical advice.

Colm Keena

Colm Keena

Colm Keena is an Irish Times journalist. He was previously legal-affairs correspondent and public-affairs correspondent

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