TGA issues fresh warnings as peptide craze intensifies

As the medicines watchdog continues to seize dangerous and illegal peptides, many clinicians are ‘unprepared’ to address their surging use, say Queensland researchers calling for an urgent and systemwide response.
 
In an article published on Monday in The Lancet, researchers from the University of Queensland call for a coordinated response to bring the health system up to speed to address the ‘emerging public health issue’ of unregulated peptide use.
 
Equipping GPs to identify and respond to injectable peptide use is key to that response, they write.
 
The article’s lead author, Dr Timothy Piatkowski, said a coordinated response across regulatory, public health and clinical settings is needed, with current public health responses ‘poorly aligned’ to the online unregulated peptide markets.
 
‘Clinicians are unprepared, which is why health systems need to prioritise training, early identification, and finding a better way to reduce harm in young people,’ he said.
 
‘We need to urgently address the underlying drivers of peptide demand, limit online access, and better equip clinicians to identify and respond to peptide use.’ 
 
RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health Chair Dr Tim Jones agrees, saying government, regulation and health ‘all need to be involved’ in a coordinated response, but GPs also need better resources.
 
‘We need some good patient education materials that correct myths and misinformation,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘And as GPs we need to raise peptide use proactively and without judgement.’
 
The University of Queensland researchers say they are most concerned by the burgeoning market of unapproved image and performance-enhancing drugs that is ‘expanding with minimal oversight’.
 
The article identified boys and young men as ‘especially at risk’ of buying and injecting peptides.
 
‘Pressure for a lean, muscular body exposes this population to online messaging that portrays peptides as safer than anabolic steroids,’ the authors wrote.
 
‘Information is often anecdotal or influencer-driven rather than clinical.’
 
Peptides such as BPC-157, CJC-1295, and retatrutide are marketed online for muscle growth, fat loss, recovery, and anti-ageing, often outside established regulatory frameworks.
 
All were included in a fresh Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) warning on the risks of importing unapproved peptide products.
 
The watchdog said it is continuing to see peptide products imported through the Personal Importation Scheme and that these products ‘may pose significant risks to patient safety’.
 
It has already seized peptides that are not clearly labelled and cannot be identified, are marked only with codes or abbreviations, or are missing essential information such as the name and concentration of the active ingredient.
 
Head of the TGA, Professor Anthony Lawler, said Australians must be ‘very cautious’ about buying peptide products online, especially from overseas websites or through online platforms or social media.
 
‘If you don’t know exactly what’s in the vial, where it was made or whether it’s sterile, you could be putting your health at serious risk.’
 
However, many warnings such as these are missing the mark, say the researchers.
 
‘Messaging frequently fails to reach young people effectively, often being inaccessible or misaligned with motivations for appearance enhancement and creating a gap where experiential information sources dominate,’ they wrote.
 
‘In these contexts, decision making becomes shaped by anecdotal and influencer-driven information rather than clinical evidence.’
 
This in turn posed a problem for GPs, with many users either not disclosing their use of peptides, or not identifying themselves as substance users.
 
The article authors say this is where additional training for GPs can help.
 
‘Clinicians should be trained on emerging substance use and body image-related behaviours among young people, increasing confidence to recognise indicators of peptide use, initiate non-judgemental conversations, and communicate uncertainty around safety and effects,’ they wrote.
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

influencer injectable peptides misinformation peptides public health retatrutide social media