Sales of fake weight-loss drugs sold online such as 'Ozempic' are soaring - but the public is being warned they are potentially extremely dangerous.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has said people should source such medicines from a registered pharmacy only, with a prescription from their doctor.

It said it has taken down or amended 431 websites, social media profiles and e-commerce listings purporting to sell Ozempic this year - twice the number it tackled last year.

It has also seized 1,401 units of illegal semaglutide - the drug contained in Ozempic - and other similar medicines, a rise from 568 units in 2023 and just 40 units in 2022.

A spokesperson said: "The HPRA states that there can be no guarantees as to what substances these online products actually contain and taking them poses a significant risk to consumers' health.

"Products detained come in various forms including tablets and pens presented as both branded and generic versions."

A large quantity of vials containing powder or liquid have also been detained, some of which were found in non-healthcare settings such as beauty salons and those offering cosmetic treatments.

It said these products, marketed as weight-loss aids, often bore no resemblance to the official drugs.

As well as Ozempic, the HPRA said it had encountered illegal versions of other appetite suppressants, initially designed to lower blood sugar in diabetics, such as Wegovy, Saxenda and Mounjaro.

The HPRA said it is "particularly concerned by the increase in unscrupulous and unauthorised sellers promoting illegal semaglutide and other GLP-1 products via online sources".

The authority said: "Accessing such products outside of the legitimate medicines supply chain could pose serious health risks."

The regulator noted that other markets are also seeing similar activity in these illegal products, with related warnings issued across Europe, in the UK, US and Australia.

Gráinne Power, the HPRA's director of compliance, said: "It's alarming to see consumers willing to take such dangerous risks to their health by purchasing illegal medicines online and from unregulated sources.

"We appeal to the public not to purchase these products online, including those marketed as Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy, Saxenda or Mounjaro.

"The semaglutide, liraglutide and other GLP-1 products we have detained - such as unauthorised tablets, pens and vials containing powder - are all illegal prescription medicines.

"We have no information about their sources, manufacturing conditions, or safety."

Ozempic started to become very popular last year with well known people at home and abroad confirming they used it.

Created by healthcare company Novo Nordisk, it was first approved by the HSE in 2018 to treat type 2 diabetes.

It is part of a growing class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists that have transformed diabetes and obesity treatment.

However, its side-effect of weight loss is what has caught global attention, making it one of a group of increasingly popular weight-loss injections.

Photo: Ozempic, Victoza and Wegovy. (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)