The UK is drifting into a “wild west” for experimental peptides, anabolic steroids and other unregulated substances, according to a leading specialist who says the trend could result in deaths if it is not addressed. Prof Channa Jayasena of Imperial College London said he is now seeing patients using experimental peptides on a daily basis and believes the current system leaves a dangerous gap between different regulators.
Jayasena said many of these products are being marketed online as part of a wellness routine, while steroids are often promoted for appearance and performance. He warned that some steroids are linked with a threefold increase in the risk of death, and said peptides also carry serious hazards because many are produced in China without standard quality controls, raising concerns about contamination and unsafe solvents.
The warnings follow a Guardian investigation into fitness influencers using Telegram to sell anabolic steroids, prescription medicines and unregulated experimental peptides. Susan Backhouse, a professor at Leeds Beckett University, said body-image concerns and repeated exposure to transformation content on social media are helping normalise enhancement practices among both men and women. She also said access has become extremely easy, with products often arriving at people’s homes within days.
Jayasena said the issue is slipping between the responsibilities of agencies, with the medicines watchdog focused on regulation and the advertising regulator having a narrower remit. Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat chair of the health select committee, said she was concerned that tech firms were not doing enough to protect users and that regulators lacked the resources to keep pace. Conservative MP Luke Evans, a former GP, also said he had repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament.
Source: theguardian.com
