Suitcase Weight-Loss Drugs: Trade Thrives in the Shadow of Online Ads

Promises of rapid weight loss online have brought smuggled injections into consumers' lives. One case involving the smuggling of these drugs has been examined.

Safir Arjan - Community Group: The market of slimming pills in the virtual space, a place that promises to lose several kilos in a few days and advertises an ideal body, has become a place for the supply of smuggled and counterfeit drugs; A market where pictures before and after consumption, seductive narratives of bloggers and unsupported claims about the effectiveness and uncomplicatedness of drugs sometimes take the place of doctor's prescriptions and drug monitoring. On the other side of these ads are consumers who report physical side effects and cases that reveal the commercial and illegal dimensions of this market.

In one of these cases, economic security police officers of Greater Tehran discovered significant amounts of drugs by identifying people who were involved in the sale of illegal and illegal slimming drugs. During the judicial investigation of one of these cases, the initial value of the items discovered from the defendant's house was announced as three billion tomans; A figure that, according to the explanations raised in the interrogation session, is only related to the drugs discovered at the same stage, not necessarily the total of possible sales during the activity.

But what makes this case more than a discovery of contraband is not only the riyal value of the drugs; Rather, it is the way they enter the market, extensive advertisements on social networks, claims of import from abroad, and the risk of using drugs whose authenticity, storage conditions, and safety may not be verified.

three billion tomans of open medicine; Personal consumption claims against sales documents

In a part of the interrogation session, Mehdi Sanei, the investigator of the Medical Crimes Prosecutor's Office, explains to the accused the charge of keeping and supplying smuggled slimming drugs, referring to the home inspection documents, the advertisements published in the cyberspace and the discovered medicinal items.

In response, the defendant first claims that the drugs were kept for personal use and due to his diabetes; A claim that is confronted by the investigator's questions about the number of drugs, their sales and advertisements attributed to the accused.

Referring to the content of a telegram channel and videos that linked the location of the drugs to the defendant's house, the investigator asks, if the drugs were for personal use, why were they offered for sale and why is there any documentation about the sale of significant amounts of drugs and the receipt of large sums of money?

The defendant continues to deny the attribution of the channel and sales activities to him and suggests that they have made a cover for him. However, in another part of the interrogation, he provides explanations about the entry of drugs through relatives and foreign travelers; Statements that are inconsistent with the initial claim of personal use.

According to what is discussed in the meeting, the defendant says that one of his relatives had a pharmacy in England and introduced him to this activity. He also talks about his trips abroad to procure medicine and pay for travel and tickets to people who brought medicines into Iran in the form of suitcases.

In response, Sanei emphasizes that the passenger entry of goods, even if the passengers are paid, is not a license for the commercial import of drugs. According to him, a product that enters the country in the form of a suitcase and outside the legal regulations cannot be considered authentic and certified safe just by claiming to be obtained from a foreign pharmacy.

In another part of the meeting, the issue of paying money to some well-known figures of cyberspace to advertise slimming pills is also raised. In his explanations, the accused states that the purpose of these actions is to earn money and says that he was not aware of the illegality of these activities.

The totality of these statements, along with the documents raised by the judicial authorities, raises an important question: are we dealing with drugs that are only prepared for personal consumption, or has a network of supply, promotion and commercial sales been operating behind the scenes? The final answer to this question depends on the review of the documents and the decision of the judicial authority; But what is revealed in the interrogation session is the more complex dimensions of the online slimming drug market.

From promises of quick weight loss to misleading advertisements

The market of slimming pills in social networks is not only based on direct sales; Part of this market is formed by producing advertising content and using personal experiences. Videos in which people talk about losing several kilos in a week, or pages that introduce significant weight loss in a short period of time without complications, can encourage the audience to self-administer the drug.

In one of the videos recreated in this report, after injecting the first dose of slimming ampoule, a person says about losing about six kilograms of weight in one week. In another example, the advertiser talks about losing 10 kg of weight in a month and invites the audience to register an opinion and receive more information.

Such narratives, especially when accompanied by images of body transformation and an emphasis on the uncomplicated nature of medication, create the impression that weight loss is quick, easy, and possible for everyone.

However, a personal experience, even if it is real, cannot be the basis for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a drug for others. Health status, underlying diseases, medications and conditions of each person are important in making treatment decisions; A topic that is often marginalized in advertising content.

On the other hand, not all pages active in this area are necessarily real drug sellers. Some consumers in their narratives also talk about paying money to virtual pages and not receiving medicine; An issue that shows that the audience may face not only the risk of using an unsafe product, but also financial fraud.

When the consumer tells about complications

Among the narratives collected from consumers, concern about physical side effects has a prominent place. Some of them talk about nausea, severe abdominal pains and digestive problems, and others mention problems that they have encountered after taking slimming pills.

Sarah says that after injecting the drug, she experienced severe nausea and abdominal pain; The pains that deprived him of sleep for several days and finally caused him to go to the doctor. In the continuation of his narrative, he informs about the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer after conducting medical examinations.

Tarane is another user who says that after using slimming pills for a while, he was diagnosed with a lump and then malignant cancer. He also talks about the messages that he claims he received from people with similar experiences; From gallbladder and thyroid problems to digestive and vision disorders.

These narratives indicate the severity of consumers' concern about the consequences of taking these drugs; But from the medical point of view, the mere occurrence of a disease after taking the drug is not enough to prove the cause and effect relationship. Determining that a drug has contributed to the occurrence or exacerbation of a disease requires expert review, medical records, test results, and scientific evaluation.

However, these same narratives highlight a serious caveat: procuring drugs from unreliable sources and injecting them without medical evaluation can expose a person to risks they were unaware of prior to use.

Expert doctor: slimming drugs are a double-edged sword

Mohammadreza Mohajeri Tehrani, an endocrinology and metabolism specialist, emphasizes in his explanations about injectable weight loss drugs that these drugs should be used with a doctor's prescription and after examining the patient's condition.

According to this expert, before prescribing slimming drugs, the patient's condition should be checked in terms of overweight and related complications, including high blood pressure, diabetes, fatty liver, and sleep-related breathing disorders. Also, some diseases and medical conditions can limit or make the use of these drugs inappropriate.

Therefore, it is not possible to recommend a drug prescribed for one patient to another person without evaluation. Buying a medicine pen for the use of several family members can also carry the risk of transmission of infection, even if the injection needle is changed.

Mohajeri Tehrani, emphasizing the need to observe the principles of injection safety, warns that the common use of injection pens may cause the transmission of viruses such as hepatitis. Based on this, initial assessment of the patient, doctor's prescription and compliance with the correct principles of use are an integral part of treatment with these drugs.

Another point is the storage conditions of injectable products. Some medicines require a certain temperature and cold chain. If the drug is exposed to inappropriate temperatures during transit, including when moving in luggage, its quality and effectiveness may be affected. In the case of a drug whose authenticity and shipping conditions are not known, the consumer has no reliable way to ensure the quality of the product.

In fact, it is not only a matter of which country the drug comes from or what brand name is on its packaging; Rather, it should be clear what exactly the product is, from which route it was imported, what conditions it went through in transportation and storage, and whether its authenticity and quality have been confirmed by competent authorities.

A warning about attributing disease to medicine

In the narratives published by some users, diseases such as cancer, thyroid problems, vision disorders and gall bladder diseases are attributed to the use of slimming pills.

However, the existence of such concerns doubles the importance of monitoring the drug market, transparency in advertising and consulting a doctor before use. Also, a difference should be made between a licensed medicine that is consumed by a doctor's prescription and a smuggled, fake or non-verifiable product; Because the possible risks of these two situations are not necessarily the same.

Economic security police: Dealing with illegal drug sales networks

Sardar Mehdi Afshari, the head of economic security police of Greater Tehran, in his explanations, informs about the identification of a group that was selling illegal and illegal slimming drugs in an organized manner.

According to him, the police officers identified this group according to the widespread advertisements in the cyberspace and arrested the accused after coordinating with the judicial authorities. During this action, significant amounts of drugs were discovered and confiscated.

Referring to the dangers of illegal drugs for people's health, Afshari asks citizens to get the drugs they need through legal channels. He also warns opportunistic and profit-seeking people that the police will deal with illegal activities in this area according to the laws and regulations.

These statements shed light on another dimension of the story: dealing with the slimming drug market is not limited to advising consumers to be cautious, but requires identifying supply routes, distribution networks, and sales and promotion methods.