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Mail & Guardian

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Drugs: Pharmaceutical Task Group has called for seizures, arrests and prosecutions,to deter sellers and protect confidence in the country’s medicines regulatory system.
PUBLIC HEALTH

Crackdown on illegal weight loss drugs

Pharmaceutical industry leaders and South African regulators have demanded urgent crackdowns, seizures, and arrests to curb the dangerous open sale of unregistered weight loss…

  • Hasina Kathrada
3 min read
Pills: How to stick to your schedule
HEALTHCARE

South Africa’s supplement crackdown risks R22bn health industry

South Africa's push to regulate natural health and wellness products under a strict pharmaceutical regime threatens an R22 billion industry, placing thousands of jobs, small…

  • Petrus de Kock
5 min read
HIGHER EDUCATION

Two scholars honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at 2026 NRF Awards

The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards went to two extraordinary and veteran scholars, Professor Jonathan Jansen and Professor Helen…

  • National Research Foundation
9 min read
HIV PREVENTION

#Aids2026: Bhekisisa analysed SA’s first LEN roll-out data. Here's what it found

South Africa accounts for over half of all lenacapavir (LEN) users in Africa, with health department data revealing 31,297 of the continent's roughly 60,000 users are in the…

  • Mia Malan
  • Linda Pretorius
  • Karen Harkema
11 min read
Costly legal weight-loss drugs are fuelling a black market in unregistered versions, including retatrutide — an experimental medicine still in trials. (Anna-Maria van Niekerk)
PUBLIC HEALTH
Video

Health Beat #39 | Inside SA's illegal weight-loss drug trade

South Africa faces a surge in illegal weight-loss drugs, as expensive GLP-1 medicines drive a black market for cheaper, untested versions. This trend raises serious health…

  • Anna-Maria van Niekerk
  • Mia Malan
  • Jessica Pitchford
  • Justin Barlow
  • Albert Tibane
  • Jeannine Snyman
2 min read
The recall of iDexus has become the subject of legal proceedings, with the pharmaceutical company denying it posed a health risk.
HEALTH REGULATION

Regulators tighten noose on recalled GLP-1 medicines

South Africa's health regulators have warned doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals that they face disciplinary action for continuing to prescribe or dispense…

  • Hasina Kathrada
2 min read
HEALTH REGULATION

Editorial: Warnings won't stop illegal meds

South Africa's health regulators have warned doctors and pharmacists about prescribing recalled GLP-1 medicines, but this highlights a deeper issue: a booming market for illegal…

  • Editorial
2 min read
PUBLIC HEALTH

Illegal weight loss drug floods SA

An investigation uncovers a rapidly growing, highly lucrative shadow market in South Africa for unapproved weight-loss drugs like Retatrutide, sold openly online and in gyms…

  • Hasina Kathrada
9 min read
The electronic cigarette industry arrived in the country with lots of hype and no regulation more than a decade ago. Today, the vape industry is thriving, with no guardrails in place and a growing teenage addiction problem. Photo: Olena Bohovyk/Pexels
VAPING

The nicotine Wild West: How SA birthed the next generation of nicotine addicts

More than a decade after electronic cigarettes arrived in South Africa with no regulation, the vape industry continues to thrive unchecked, leading to a growing teenage addiction…

  • Tanya Pampalone
9 min read