It's interesting how many people in the HN comments are on this stuff - here in the UK you can't get it unless your BMI is pretty high. Is it easier to get prescribed in the US or are people just buying the chemicals online?
It's interesting how many people in the HN comments are on this stuff - here in the UK you can't get it unless your BMI is pretty high. Is it easier to get prescribed in the US or are people just buying the chemicals online?
A side effect of healthcare being a for-profit system in the US means it runs the gamut, from a doctor you meet with in a clinic irl, to a doctor you never actually meet online, you just fill out some digital paperwork for, to the exteme where users get chemicals from sketchy websites and do chemical prep at home. The middle ground is to use an online "pill mill" that ships out from a compounding pharmacy, often not covered by insurance so paid out of pocket. Maybe $300/month? According to online sources aka reddit it's fairly accessible, just fill out an online questionaire and get a prescription from a doctor, followed by getting the medication shipped to you. It was a bit more open during Covid, but it's still relatively accessible. If you do have a high BMI then more mainstream sources are available to you though.
It's estimated that 1.5 million people are taking them in the UK, most of them privately [0].
It's really easy to get them in the UK from a variety of online and high street pharmacies, including from well-known brands like Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy, or ASDA.
[0] - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c981044pgvyo
You only need a BMI of 30 to get a private subscription. That's a pretty large portion of the population (no pun intended).
Note that you can't advertise prescription drugs in the UK. There's also still a bit of a stigma about going private, and it's expensive.
I'm not sure how true the stigma is for GLP-1 based drugs. There are lots of online options for getting it from major orgs in the UK including things like Asda who aren't really a well-known pharmacy brand here (https://onlinedoctor.asda.com/uk/weight-loss-treatment.html).
As to advertising, my perception is that it's wrapped in a "weight loss clinic" style presentation but you don't have to be on all the sites long before you get to the "buy $GLP-1" here :)