Faux-zempic danger: How to tell if YOUR jab is a convincing fake – as TV star reveals near death experience after ‘horror’ injection
Health officials have issued an urgent warning over dangerous fake weight loss drugs after an influencer nearly died from injecting what she called a ‘syringe of horrors.’
Celebrity Big Brother star Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, 46, said she bought the budget weight loss jab via WhatsApp after gaining two stone following a period of emotional eating and mental health struggles.
Instead of helping her slim down, the counterfeit Ozempic triggered severe side effects including extreme fatigue, vomiting and diarrhoea.
‘I got added to a WhatsApp group where girls talk about what they want to have done—lip filler and things—and someone on there was offering Ozempic,’ she said.
‘For the first month I felt fine, even energetic and I could see that I was already losing a bit of weight.
‘But then I took the second month’s [dose] and I came so close to death.
‘For three days I thought I was going to die. I was in bed literally comatosed. I’d wake up, roll over and vomit into a bag.
‘At one point, I had three bags of vomit by my bedside. I couldn’t even walk the two steps to the toilet, I had to crawl and drag myself.’
The TV personality said she was ‘in a bad place’ following the loss of her close friend and her beloved dog, and took the drug without giving the risks much thought
The injections, like Ozempic and Wegovy, are designed to help type 2 diabetes patients control their blood sugar levels or for obese people to lose weight for health purposes
The star emerged on to the scene when she appeared as a contestant on Big Brother in 2006
‘Then, I started losing my vision. My eyes were going blurry and I couldn’t see. I had no idea what was going to happen to me,’ she added, speaking to The Sun.
‘I wish I never, ever took the first month’s supply or even heard about this drug,’ she added.
‘It was a syringe of horrors, that’s all I know. The chemicals must have been wrong.’
The popularity of blockbuster weight loss jabs, which also include Wegovy and Mounjaro, has seen demand overtake supply, fuelling the sale of convincing counterfeit versions that claim to contain the active ingredients semaglutide or tirzepatide.
The injections were originally intended for people with type 2 diabetes to help control blood sugar levels but are now offered to those with obesity to aid weight loss.
While legitimate versions can cause a range of side effects—including pancreatitis, gut issues and even hair loss—experts warn the dangers of counterfeit drugs are far greater.
According to officials, knock-off jabs often contain the hormone insulin, which can trigger heart palpitations, life-threatening seizures and hypoglycaemic shock, where blood sugar levels drop dangerously low.
They stress that the only way to be sure a weight loss pen is genuine is to obtain it from a registered pharmacy with a prescription from a healthcare professional.
Health officials have already seized more than 600 potentially fake Ozempic pens across the UK since the start of 2023
Currently, UK law forbids the sale of such drugs without a prescription and prohibits the promotion of any prescription medication. Offenders can face a fine and up to two years in prison.
Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Ozempic and WeGovy, has warned that the sale of counterfeit injections in the UK is a ‘critical issue’ that poses a direct danger to health.
Anne Devaud, the company’s head of product security, told The Sun that the best way to stop the spread of fake jabs is for everyone to remain vigilant.
She said: ‘We need to continue to develop awareness — because everybody has a responsibility.
‘If patients are more vigilant, ordering less online and we are collaborating with authorities and authorities are reinforcing regulation to avoid any illicit compounding to enter the country, I’m confident that with this combined effort, we may really make a difference.’
The company has urged anyone who believes they may have purchased a counterfeit product not to use it and to report it to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, told the Daily Mail: ‘If you buy medicines from unverified sources, there is no guarantee the product is safe or effective.
‘They may even be contaminated with toxins that could cause real harm and leave you hospitalised.’
Last year Michelle Sword, 45, pictured with her two children Cadie (right), 13, and Coen (left), 18 told how she collapsed after taking a weight loss jab she bought online
Ms Sword said the doctors who saved her life called her recovery little short of miraculous. Pictured being attended to by medics after taking the counterfeit jab
He added: ‘Remember [weight loss jabs] are not cosmetic treatments—they are powerful medicines that can only be legally and safely dispensed against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.’
Mr Morling said counterfeit drugs remain rare in the UK, but warned that the market for fake weight loss jabs persists.
He said to be vigilant for ‘DIY kits’ that include the active ingredient in powdered form alongside syringes.
The Daily Mail has previously highlighted the case of a mother who was left comatose and almost died after buying a weight loss jab illegally sold online.
Despite the serious health risks, social media platforms remain awash with dealers exploiting the lucrative black market, selling the jabs for a fraction of the cost of legitimate products, which can be up to £200.
Experts warn many of these fake slimming jabs do not even contain the active ingredients designed to dampen hunger signals. Instead, they are often just insulin pens repackaged to look like the blockbuster drugs.
It comes as pharmacists have warned of potential shortages caused by booming demand for weight loss medication—a situation experts say could push more people into buying potentially dangerous jabs online.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents more than 6,000 independent community pharmacies, said last month that the current level of demand is unsustainable.
GPs in the UK are now allowed to prescribe the drugs, collectively known as GLP-1s in a bid to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis—with an estimated 1.5million people suspected to be on the jabs via the NHS or private clinics.
In the warning, NPA chairman Olivier Picard said: ”Weight loss jabs are one of the biggest drug innovations this century, but growing demand for weight loss treatment highlights the need to make sure this is appropriate from those who want it.
‘We want to make sure supplies are carefully managed so that those in most clinical need can benefit from weight loss medication.’
Under NHS guidelines only patients who have a body mass index (BMI) of over 35, or a BMI of 30 and at least one weight related health problem like high blood pressure, should be prescribed Wegovy.
