Saloni Khera, a social media manager in Mumbai, gained 30 kg in just six months after the Covid-19 pandemic.

A combination of factors were at work. She had long Covid, a condition in which the virus leaves behind a trail of health problems. She was pre-diabetic and also had a hormonal disorder.

She weighed 153.5 kg.

Her attempts at losing weight through multiple diet regimens – even drinking only water for a week – had failed. “If I lost 15 kg, I gained 25 kg back,” she said.

People with chronic obesity, a lifelong disorder like diabetes or hypertension, can gain weight rapidly, putting pressure on their heart. This can have a cascading effect on their health.

Last year, Khera consulted a gynaecologist in Ahmedabad as she and her husband began to think about having a child. “I wanted to be fit to be able to do it,” the 35-year-old told Scroll.

The gynaecologist referred her to an endocrinologist who advised her to reduce weight first. He suggested she try the weight-loss drug – Mounjaro – an injectable that can help reduce over 20% body weight.

Mounjaro is a brand name for a new medicine called Tirzepatide, which mimics two natural hormones present in the gut – glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP. The hormones signal to the brain that the stomach is full, release insulin and slow down digestion.

As the drug increases these satiety hormones in the body, a person feels full and eats less.

But, as effective as they are, they are not meant for every one and cannot be used without medical advice. According to the Union health ministry, only cardiologists, endocrinologists and internal medicine specialists are authorised to prescribe GLP-1 drugs and monitor patients.

Khera did exactly that. She lost 35 kg in 11 months.

Even then, the treatment was difficult. In the initial months, she suffered multiple side effects, including diarrhoea, constipation and headaches. “But for the first time I realised that this is actually working for me,” she said about the drug.

She began to read up on high-fibre and high-protein diets as shedding kilos was leading to muscle loss. Last August, she decided to help others and began a support group for GLP-1 users on Instagram. It received an overwhelming response. The community has over 140 members now.

She soon realised that many had embarked on a lonely journey of weight loss using these drugs. But, more worryingly, many had begun taking the drugs without medical advice.

Some had visited a salon and purchased a treatment package of these drugs, some were students trying to reduce weight on their own without informing their parents. A woman in her group confessed that she paid Rs 1.5 lakh at a beauty salon in Ludhiana for weight loss before realising that the clinic was not medically assessing her.

“I advise everyone to do this only under medical supervision,” Khera said. “I only add a person to the community when I know they are doing this under medical supervision.”

Scroll’s investigation into the market for weight-loss drugs bears out Khera’s concerns.

We uncovered a range of irregularities – from unauthorised doctors prescribing the drugs as part of beauty treatment in salons to online medicine sellers and chemists agreeing to sell the medicines without a prescription. Some salons bundled it under a bridal package as a quick fix for to-be brides who wish to lose weight.

‘Everyone wants a share’

About 30% women and 27% men in India are overweight, data from the latest National Family Health Survey shows.

Not surprisingly, the market for GLP-1 drugs in India is booming. According to Pharmarack Technology, the sales of these injectable drugs in India rose from Rs 525 crore in May 2025 to Rs 1,906 crore this May.

The most popular injection, Mounjaro, manufactured by US headquartered Eli Lilly, became India’s top selling drug in 2025. This year, multiple Indian brands have flooded the market with such drugs and brought down the prices.

The glut in demand has led to the drugs being used without safeguards laid down by the medical establishment.

“Everybody wants to get into this. The market is huge,” said Dr Saumil Shah, a Mumbai-based plastic surgeon. Last year, Shah partnered with an endocrinologist and dietician to cater to GLP-1 patients. “However, it is being treated as a beauty product, rather than a health product,” he cautioned.

At beauty salons, rules flouted

At beauty salons, rules flouted

In Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, a salon calling itself “India’s first hybrid clinic-salon” offers services ranging from dermatology to beauty – and even slimming packages.

When we walked into the clinic in May and asked about their weight-loss programmes, a receptionist led us to a young dermatologist.

The dermatologist asked this reporter about her weight and height. Over the next 30 minutes, she proceeded to talk about the benefits of Mounjaro. “It is safe. If you have a side effect, it means the drug is actually working," the dermatologist told us.

She advised a three-month course of injections at the cost of Rs 99,000, which would be administered at the salon. For a medical prescription, a Hyderabad-based endocrinologist would write one after a “quick” online call, she assured us.

There were several red flags in the above scenario.

First, according to the Union health ministry, only cardiologists, endocrinologists and internal medicine specialists are authorised to prescribe GLP-1 drugs after a clinical assessment. In the clinic, the dermatologist was handling the entire treatment and an endocrinologist had been onboarded only to write the prescription.

Second, the treatment has been bundled into a beauty package with injections being given only at the clinic along with other supplements.

According to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, those with a body mass index of over 30 with no comorbidity, or those with body mass index of 27 to 30 with other co-morbidities like diabetes or hypertension, are considered for treatment of tirzepatide or semaglutide drugs.

Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, head of endocrinology department in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital, said, “When we prescribe this medication, we do a comprehensive assessment. We check whether the person has a history of gall stones or thyroid through an ultrasound.”

In case a patient has either of those conditions, a doctor can choose not to prescribe GLP-1 drugs. Kapoor said they check “whether the patient has adiposity-based chronic disease” – or obesity that harms other organs – before proceeding to recommend the drug.

Endocrinologist Joshi, from Lilavati hospital, added: “A history of stomach disorder is also checked because it can aggravate nausea and vomiting.” A family history of cancer or thyroid must also be checked before, he added.

The dermatologist in the Mumbai beauty clinic only recommended a blood test and did not ask for such detailed assessments. The clinic also practiced a “standard” dose regime for all patients – 2.5 mg of Mounjaro in the first month, 5 mg dose in the second month and 7.5 mg in the third month for every person.

But endocrinologist Joshi said that GLP-1 drugs cannot be standardised for every patient and a dose is only increased if the person needs it. The sudden rise in dosage without clinical requirement can cause pancreatitis or gastrointestinal distress or hypoglycemia.

Dr Kapoor agreed: “It is not a case of one size fits all.”

In Delhi, at the branch of a leading beauty and wellness clinic chain, popular in the market for its “slimming packages”, these precautions were not followed.

The clinic put us through a test that analysed body composition, fat and muscle percentages, along with a BMI. A young employee broke down the results and advised a three-month plan of Mounjaro as well as therapies to balance muscle loss.

When it came to medical advice, they said we would have to consult with an in-house physician – a general medicine doctor with an MBBS degree and not an endocrinologist or cardiologist – for a prescription.

Both the Delhi and Mumbai clinics were also overcharging their customers.

In Delhi, a three-month package of Mounjaro was Rs 92,000. In Mumbai, the package cost was Rs 99,000 for three months. This is three times the cost of the drugs.

’Not everybody is suited for this’

’Not everybody is suited for this’

When GLP-1 drugs are taken without proper medical monitoring, patients run the risk of serious side-effects. The Union health ministry has warned that GLP-1 drugs can cause, “common symptoms like nausea and vomiting to severe complications including pancreatitis, kidney injury, and bowel obstruction”.

In April, Dr Kapoor at Kokilaben hospital attended to a 32-year-old woman with complaints of pancreatitis. She had undergone a liposuction procedure and also wanted body contouring. An aesthetic clinic she consulted in the western suburbs of Mumbai put her on Mounjaro.

In the first month, she took four injections of 2.5 mg each. By next month, her dosage was increased to 5 mg and then 7.5 mg, a standard practice across aesthetic clinics.

She began to experience severe abdomen pain and nausea. One of the rare side-effects of Mounjaro is swelling in the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin and digestive enzymes. She eventually required hospitalisation due to pancreatitis.

The woman’s BMI was 27. She had no other co-morbidity. Kapoor said she was not even eligible for Mounjaro.

Kapoor said he has been getting patients with intestinal obstruction, pancreatitis or gall bladder diseases after taking GLP-1 drugs. “All these are serious side effects of the medicines,” he said.

Dr Jalil Parkar, a pulmonologist in Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital, treated a man in April with severe effects of GLP-1 drugs. The 46-year-old businessman in Bandra weighed 150 kg and was in fact eligible to take the GLP-1 drug for weight loss management.

After four injections of 2.5 mg in the first month, his doctor increased the dosage to 5 mg. “I lost 10 kgs in 45 days,” he told Scroll. “But then I started getting acid attacks, coughing fits, vomiting, muscle pain and constipation,” he added.

Eventually, he required hospitalisation. “I told him to stop taking these drugs. Not everybody is suited for it,” Parkar said.

The 46-year-old told Scroll that he has decided to stop these injections.

No prescription, no worry

The popularity and high demand have led to chemist shops and online portals compromise on mandatory requirements to sell such medication.

Scroll contacted 11 online suppliers across India for 2.5 mg Mounjaro injections. Seven agreed to sell the product without a prescription and provide free home delivery. GLP-1 drugs are a schedule H drug, which means it requires a prescription to be sold and cannot be provided over the counter.

Of the seven, only one supplier warned that “it is better if you consult a doctor because there are contra indications of this drug”. But even that supplier was willing to supply the drug without prescription.

We also tried to buy Mounjaro without a prescription on three e-pharmacy portals – PharmEasy, Truemeds, and Tata1Mg. All offered to provide a free doctor consultation for a valid prescription to make the purchase.

We said we had a body mass index of 27 with no comorbidities and no family history of illness when the doctors from the respective portals called. None asked us to submit a blood test report. According to CDSCO, a person with a body mass index of 27 with no comorbidity is not an eligible candidate for the treatment.

Truemeds and Tata1Mg refused to provide a prescription, saying that the BMI did not fit the eligibility criteria and advised us to instead start exercising to reduce our weight.

But PharmEasy not only provided the prescription, it also sent a delivery boy with a 2.5 mg Mounjaro pen at our doorstep within hours.

On the call with PharmEasy, the doctor asked our age, height, weight, any medical issues, family history of illness, and advised us on how to use the injection. The doctor did not ask for a thyroid or a blood test to check our markers.

When we emailed PharmEasy asking about the lax standards on its portals, it stated, “PharmEasy has partnered with tele-consultation platforms who implement stringent processes which are compliant with applicable laws (including advisories issued by the regulatory authorities) for prescription and dispensation of GLP-1 medicines.”

The e-pharma portal added that the decision to prescribe the medicine rested with the doctor. “It is clarified that neither PharmEasy nor its tele-consultation partners have the right or capability to influence or interfere with the RMP’s [registered medical practitioner] independent clinical judgment during the course of tele-consultation through the PharmEasy platform and the duty to prescribe medication pursuant to tele-consult is the sole and complete responsibility of the RMP,” the portal said.

At brick-and-mortar chemist shops, too, the safeguards were absent.

In Mumbai, we visited 10 chemist shops and seven were willing to sell the injection without a prescription. One said that the drug was showing “fast results with no side effects”. Another said the drug was in “great demand”.

Ganesh Rokade, joint commissioner of drugs in Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration, said they are aware of the sudden rise in sales of GLP-1 drugs and were worried about sales without valid prescriptions. “Last year, we raided several places to curb illegal sales,” he said.

In April, the Union health ministry in its release said that it had inspected 49 businesses across the country, including online pharmacy warehouses, drug wholesalers, retailers, and weight loss clinics to audit GLP-1 use. These inspections looked at violations related to unauthorised sale, improper prescriptions, and misleading marketing. “Notices have been issued to those found breaking the rules,” the ministry said.

A spokesperson for the ministry, however, declined to provide details of the number of notices issued or the action taken in each violation. “We know the scale of the problem is huge,” they said.

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