The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has pinpointed concerning trends of rising illegal sales of medicines aimed at altering physical appearance. This includes anabolic steroids for muscle enhancement, Botox for smoothing of wrinkles, and substances that promote tanning upon inhalation.
Asserting an unfortunate parallel rise in online advertising for such products, Gráinne Power, HPRA’s director of compliance, highlights the dangers of procuring such medicines without consulting a certified healthcare professional.
In 2023, the HPRA intercepted approximately 875,000 units of counterfeit or unlawfully sold medicines and liaised with social networking sites to restrict access to, or alter, around 2,300 webpages, e-commerce listings, or social media accounts promoting illegal medical product sales.
Sedatives made the largest portion of confiscated medicines (around 294,000), trailed by anabolic steroids (about 250,000), erectile dysfunction drugs (about 84,000), analgesics or painkillers (roughly 42,000), and stimulants (around 24,500) – the latter reportedly being misused by students to keep awake during high-intensity study sessions.
“This kind of medicine can be perilous for one’s health or even life-threatening if taken without professional medical counselling,” warns Ms Power, emphasising that the origin or genuine contents of products acquired outside officially regulated channels often remain unknown. Additionally, she underlines that certain medications, such as Botox, must be transported chilled to ensure their efficacy and safety, and failing that can lead to major complications.
Anabolic steroids, according to her, can trigger severe circumstances like heart failure, liver complications, kidney impairment, and fertility issues. “A straightforward internet search reveals cases handled by coroners recently that were linked to anabolic steroid use.”
Ms Power highlights that the detection of unlawful anabolic steroids has escalated recently, noting a rise of over 20 per cent in 2023. According to her, young men could be particularly vulnerable to order anabolic steroids online, risking grave health complications due to unawareness about the potential hazards of these substances.
A recent judgement from the Circuit Court resulted in a two-year penalty for storing anabolic steroids for unregulated distribution. The level of the unlawful distribution of such substances implies criminal activity. Ms Power emphasised, “There’s significant profit in this business.”
There’s been a significant uptick in the discovery of banned substances intended for combating ageing signs, tanning enhancement and weight reduction, as noted by the authority.
Seizures of Botox units have exploded, from 26 in 2020, to 339 in 2022, and a staggering 1,748 just last year. Meanwhile, the confiscation of Melanotan 2, a nostril spray designed to boost tanning, increased from 790 in 2021 to 1,329 the following year.
Use of Melanotan 2, according to Ms Power, may result in a tan but could also lead to skin cancer. “It’s guaranteed to give you a headache.”
Botox could potentially lead to severe localized skin harm. Additionally, the authority is apprehensive about the escalating count of semaglutide and liraglutide units, substances designed to curb hunger, but should only be used under medical supervision.