Cases of weight-loss drug poisoning
In 2021, the New Jersey Poison Control Center recorded 29 GLP-1 exposure cases. By 2024, that number jumped to 189.
The Poison Control Center at CHOP saw 95 related cases in 2023. In just a single year, the number nearly doubled to 192. As of this month, there’s already been 126 exposures so far this year.
The local increases reflect what is happening on a national level, with GLP-1 exposure ballooning from 1,090 cases in 2020 to 8,501 cases in 2024, according to figures from the National Poison Data System at America’s Poison Centers.
GLP-1 exposure cases include calls made by people with a suspected poisoning or by people who are experiencing any side effect or symptom after taking the wrong dosage of a medication, or even when they are taking it as prescribed.
“Then they have that unexpected nausea, vomiting, symptoms, diarrhea sometimes, and they call us to see, ‘Hey, is this something that we really need to be concerned about? Do we need to stop it?’” Jaworski said.
Experts note that although they are seeing a sharp rise in exposures, the severity of cases and poisonings has not changed over time and are not worse compared to past GLP-1 exposures.
After consulting experts at poison control centers, Jaworski and Ruck said most people are able to avoid an emergency room visit and monitor symptoms at home. In rare cases, people do go to the hospital.
However, Jaworski said his team has noticed some other concerning trends, including how people are buying compounded or counterfeit GLP-1 drugs from online marketplaces and through social media.
“Some of them may contain stuff that they don’t even know is in there,” he said. “Then there have been reports of people getting seriously ill.”
Jaworski said they’re also getting calls from people who are taking medication that was originally prescribed to a family member or friend. Taking another person’s medication can put someone at risk for unexpected side effects and health complications, he said.