Netherlands sees double poisonings from injectable weight‑loss drugs

The National Poison Information Centre (NVIC) in the Netherlands reported that cases of poisoning from injectable weight‑loss medicines doubled in one year, rising from 76 in 2024 to 149 in 2025. The increase includes the first recorded incidents involving unregistered slimming medications and experimental peptides. About 40 % of the reports concern drugs containing semaglutide, liraglutide or tirzepatide that were used without medical supervision. Six cases involved the experimental agent retatrutide, and by the first five months of 2026 that figure had risen to twelve, even though retatrutide is not approved for prescription in the Netherlands. NVIC head and intensive‑care toxicologist Dylan de Lange warned that many users obtain vague products online, often unaware of what they inject, and that social‑media promotion is driving the dangerous trend. He emphasized the potentially acute and chronic health risks of these unregulated substances.