Black market GLP-1s are back on TikTok Shop, along with tretinoin — a trendy topical medication popularized by skinfluencers. Although a prescription is required to obtain both of these products in the United States, TikTok Shop merchants seem to be selling them in a legally dubious way, despite the platform’s ban on the sale of products that require a prescription.
The GLP-1 Media Matters found for sale on TikTok Shop appears to be Japanese Mounjaro based on the packaging and Eli Lilly stamp. Lilly is the pharmaceutical company that produces Mounjaro. It launched the product in Japan three years ago.
GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that is naturally released in response to eating to help regulate blood sugar. GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, are a “class of medications that work by mimicking the natural GLP-1 hormone” and support weight loss by slowing down stomach emptying, reducing appetite, and lowering blood sugar levels.
The Mounjaro pens are advertised as a “pen for daily writing” in the product description, but the images clearly display GLP-1 pens in varying doses. Prices range from $149 to $319, with an option to pay in four installments through Affirm.
TikTok Shop merchants misleadingly labeling black market products as innocuous items isn’t a new strategy. It’s something Media Matters has repeatedly documented since TikTok Shop’s launch. It’s a creative way to skirt TikTok moderators and profit from products that would otherwise be prohibited by TikTok Shop’s own policies, namely the policies that prohibit “products and supplements that claim to aid in weight management” and “products that use ‘GLP’ or any variation of it in their branding or product title.” Products requiring “a prescription written by a healthcare provider” are also banned from TikTok Shop.
Experts agree that illegal online pharmaceutical vendors do not produce reliable products. In August 2024, a qualitative study published by the American Medical Association found that semaglutide products sold by illegal online vendors likely did not meet legitimate product quality standards. The samples studied showed inconsistent levels of semaglutide, with lower purity levels of semaglutide and higher concentrations of semaglutide content, “meaning that users could receive up to 39% more semaglutide per injection.” Three out of six of the products ordered for testing in the study were never even delivered. Mounjaro is a tirzepatide, not a semaglutide, but these findings remain relevant.
The FDA has issued warnings about the dangers of using unapproved or compounded GLP-1s, and Poison Control centers across the United States have seen a nearly 1,500% increase in calls related to overdose or side effects of injectable weight loss drugs since 2019.
TikTok Shop merchants are also selling tretinoin
There’s a massive market of TikTok Shop merchants selling tretinoin, a prescription-only cream that is used to treat a variety of skin conditions.
Tretinoin blew up on TikTok, but obtaining the product in the United States can be difficult and requires a prescription by a licensed healthcare professional. However, obtaining black market tretinoin only requires a quick trip to TikTok Shop.
Finding tretinoin on TikTok Shop doesn’t require any euphemistic workarounds like other illicit products. Users can simply search for “tretinoin” in the TikTok Shop tab and an array of product options are available.
At least some of the vendors on TikTok Shop seem to be selling tretinoin from Mexico. The tretinoin packaging is in Spanish and some item descriptions identify the products as made in Mexico.
Tretinoin is prescription-only for a reason — use of the medication can result in serious side effects, such as severe skin irritation, allergic reactions, and potential harm to a fetus during pregnancy.
