Almost three million prescriptions for jabs used for weight loss and type 2 diabetes were dished out in England last year, latest figures reveal. Prescriptions for the three most popular drugs — Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy — soared from 1.4 million in 2023-2024 to 2.7 million last year, The Sun reported.
The increase was driven by rising use of Mounjaro, or tirzepatide, which has been dubbed the “King Kong” of weight loss jabs. It was one of the 10 prescription items which saw the greatest increase in use last year, with spending rising by £93.1 million across two doses of the pre-filled pens.
In total, the NHS paid £269 million for weight loss and diabetes jabs last year, with most items going to patients who were being treated for type 2 diabetes.
Hundreds of thousands more patients are also obtaining the drugs through private prescriptions. Jab prescriptions are expected to continue rising in the coming years as the NHS rolls them out more widely.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week issued a reminder for thousands of women to ensure they are using effective contraception while using the drugs.
Women are advised to keep taking contraception for up to two months between stopping the medication and trying to get pregnant. And anyone who falls pregnant while using the jabs should stop taking them immediately.
The MHRA said these measures were necessary because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to a developing baby.
NHS figures show that overall the NHS spent £11.2 billion on prescription items dispensed int he community during 2024-25, up 2% from £10.9 billion in the previous year.
A type of statin, atorvastatin, was the most dispensed drug in England, with 73 million items dished out.
Meanwhile, anti-diabetic drug dapagiflozin had the highest total cost at £333 million.
