Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
SAHPRAIn the news
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