He added: “At UKAT, we’ve treated clients for weight-loss medication addiction for the first time ever this year.”That’s a worrying development and a reminder that these drugs should not be treated as risk-free shortcuts. We need greater awareness of the potential harms before more people find themselves struggling with the consequences.”Dr Alison Cave, the MHRA’s chief safety officer, said: “Patient safety is our top priority, and we work continuously to protect the public from illicit medicines and ensure people access medicines, including those used for weight loss, correctly and safely.”This month we seized thousands of fake weight-loss medicines, worth approximately £2million, and stopped them reaching the public.”We are substantially increasing our criminal enforcement capacity, giving us more specialist resources to investigate, disrupt and, where appropriate, prosecute those involved in illegal medicine activity.”She warned: “Obtaining medicines from illegal or unregulated sources may put your health at serious risk.”There is no way of knowing what these products contain, whether they have been manufactured to appropriate quality standards, or how they have been prepared, transported or stored.”Dr Cave added: “Retatrutide is still in clinical trials and has not yet been authorised for use anywhere in the world. Therefore, there is no way of accessing retatrutide safely outside of a clinical trial.”There is only one safe way to obtain genuine weight-loss medicines: through a prescription issued by a qualified healthcare professional and dispensed by a registered pharmacy.”