United Kingdom; The social media platform TikTok, which is popular among teenagers, has come under scrutiny after an investigation by a Pharmaceutical Journal found that the platform was offering users prescription drugs as diet pills.
Advertisements for epilepsy, alcohol, addiction and migraine drugs were promoted by a Tik Tok user despite registering as a girl under the age of 16, the Journal exposed.
The appetite suppressant phentermine and products based on it were drugs commonly mentioned in the prescriptions. Particularly, Phentermine which is not a licensed drug for consumption in the UK.
Diet claims that are unrealistic and not supported by evidence-based science on social media can be dangerous no matter what age you are. But for under-16s they can have very real consequences.
The British Dietetic Association stated.
The journal surveyed more than 1,500 UK pharmacists and found that around 60 percent received questions about medicines seen by patients on social media.
Patients were more interested in weight loss, COVID-19 related drugs, and cannabis-based drugs and cannabis (CBD) oil.
Experts have warned of the spread of epilepsy drugs as weight loss pills on social media including TikTok.
The pharmaceutical journal reports that the social media platform (Tik Tok), which is expected to reach 1.8 billion active users by the end of 2022, took down some of the videos after it was reported.
‘We care deeply about the health and wellbeing of our community. Our Community Guidelines make clear that we do not allow the promotion or trade of controlled substances, including prescription weight loss medication, and we will remove content that violates these policies,’ a spokesperson from TikTok responded.