STANDING in the snack aisle in the middle of her local Asda, mum Vicky Lynnson has a decision to make.
Does she buy her kids their favourite Walkers crisps – or does she get the Smart Price version so she can squirrel away a few extra quid from her monthly benefits to buy herself more fat jabs?
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It’s an easy choice for the 41-year-old mum-of-two from Manchester – nothing will get in the way of her getting her hands on the miracle mounjaro pens, even if it means her kids have to go without.
In fact, the stubborn mum has been stockpiling the jabs ahead of the new price increases, spending £610 of her benefits on five 12.5mg pens in the last fortnight.
Vicky, who hides the injections in an old ice cream tub in her fridge, says: “In total I’ve paid out £1,680 in injectable pen payments – but I am saving the taxpayer cash.
“I won’t be told how to spend my benefits, for me Mounjaro isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.”
Spending £160 a month on jabs Vicky lost a total of three stone in five months, going from 16st 9lbs and a size 20 to 13st 3lbs and a size 14.
“My confidence and self esteem has sky-rocketed,” says Vicky.
“I’m a better mum now because I am healthier and happier.
“I won’t be denied the chance to jab to lose weight, look good, feel good and glam up.”
Vicky lives near Manchester with her two sons, aged eight and three, in a £495-a-month council home.
She receives just over £1,700 in Universal Credit, including housing benefit, standard allowance, child support and £187 in Child Benefit.
Vicky says she was forced to start claiming UC after splitting with her sons’ dad before her second child was born.
“I juggle every penny and cut every cost to pay for my stockpile and jabs,” she says.
“Some people waste their UC on booze and fags, this is a much better use of the money.
“Going private helps the taxpayers as I’m not clogging up the NHS and not costing them cash for being obese.”
But Vicky was forced to start stockpiling the jab when the price hike was on Friday, August 14.
From September 1st (yesterday), the price of weight loss injectables will cost up to 170% more.
US-based Eli Lilly & Co said it will increase British prices to match the rest of Europe after offering bargain rates for more than a year.
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From yesterday, the UK wholesale price for a month’s supply of the minimum 2.5mg dose will cost pharmacies £133 (up from £92), with a 10mg dose rising from £107 to £255 and the maximum 15mg from £122 to £330.
Vicky’s 12.5mg dose will jump from £122 to £330 a month a total of £2,496 extra per year.
As she is on Universal Credit, Mounjaro swallows nearly 15% of her disposable cash. For a median household of £36,700 it is 7%, and for a £50,000 household it is 5%.
Vicky started using Mounjaro in March after battling obesity all her life.
Bullied as a teen, she tried meal replacements, diet pills and shake diets, but continued piling on the pounds when she reached her twenties.
I used all my UC to cover the first two months of Mounjaro jabs
Vicky Lynnson
After giving birth to her first son in May 2017, Vicky lost just 10lbs of baby weight but by June 2022, when her second son was born, she was a size 20 .
She says: “I was stuffing myself with chips, sweets, creamy curries and pasta. I had a new baby, no help and no time to exercise.
“I felt miserable and hopeless.
“My NHS GP didn’t have funding for weight loss injectables and my UC mum mates were on the jab and looked amazing,” she says.
“I got a cheap starter deal of £120 from Empower Med Pharmacy and I was hooked after one month.
“In those first four weeks I had lost a stone and all my ‘food noise’ had gone.
“My friends on benefits did deals with online pharmacies as part of monetising their social media platforms they began working with online pharmacies to get free or discounted pens .
“In return they shared discount codes on social media to cut jab costs. The more of their followers who used their special codes the more cash they received or credit towards low cost or even free pens.
“Each time a follower uses the code, the buyer saves money and the influencer earns cashback or credit.”
Earlier this year UK regulators have cracked down on advertising prescription-only medicines like Mounjaro/Wegovy via influencers and paid ads.
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However, sharing of discount codes on social media has continued and since the price hike announcement has skyrocketed with so called ‘jab-fluencers’ encouraging followers to stock up on multi pack buys, two or even three pen offers at a time.
“They got cheaper pens because the more people used their codes the more discount they got,” Vicky says.
“I made sure I used them and could get £30 to £50 off which meant I could stretch my UC further.”
Vicky spent £120 in March for her first dose of 2.5mg and was titrated up to 12.5mg in July paying £160.
“I decided to have a two-to-one approach. Two pens stashed, one on the go and one on order in case of shortages,” she says.
But keeping up with her Mounjaro meant scaling back elsewhere.
“I used all my UC to cover the first two months,” she says.
“I had some money in savings and used £100 from UC to cover the rest and cut back elsewhere.
“I was eating less and the boys got my share and they didn’t notice the downgrade to supermarket own brands.
“My jabs cost more than my grocery bill – that doesn’t mean anyone misses out.
“I also sold clothes on Vinted as well as furniture and toys on Facebook Marketplace to boost our income.”
In May, Vicky joined another pharmacy online to buy extra pens using a combination of her UC, credit cards and buy now, pay later app Klarna.
She has accrued a total debt of £1,120 purely from stockpiling Mounjaro.
“My stockpile will be valued at £2600 after September 1st but I won’t sell,” she says.
“I’ll pay it off slowly, I’m still losing weight so I can flog even more clothes on Vinted once they’re too big
“I am behind on my water bill and stretching my Klarna dates but I’ll juggle arrears if it means I can keep the weight off.”
The ONS shows more people on benefits struggle with obesity. There are 8 million UC claimants and six in ten – 4.8m – are overweight.
“Benefits recipients are victims of wealth and weight discrimination,” argues Vicky.
Are you eligible for fat jabs on the NHS?
TO be eligible for NHS weight loss injections, you typically need a high BMI (Body Mass Index) and a number of weight-related health conditions.
A BMI of 40 or more is usually required, or a BMI of 37.5 or more for certain ethnic groups.
For individuals from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African, or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds, a lower BMI of 37.5 or higher may be considered due to increased health risks at lower BMI levels within these groups.
Additionally, you must have at least three or four of the following conditions:
These injections are generally provided with a structured weight management programme that includes lifestyle support.
If you’re looking to access weight loss injections on the NHS, discuss your options with your GP.
“The price hike means the people who need it the most are priced out.
“The government bangs on about obesity yet they know many claimants are forking over hundreds a month. They should give me this for free.
“It’s why I am not ashamed to have a UC-funded stockpile and a better body.”
Once her stash is gone, she’s hoping to get onto a free trial for the new injectable Retatrutide.
Retatrutide has a triple action mechanise and targets GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors and has the nickname of Triple G. Early trial results who it can mean patients lose a huge 24% of weight more then any injectable on them market.
The jab is in trial phase in Britain. Patients are actively being recruited now for phase three of the Triumph 6 trial known as Maintenance and Weight Reduction in 11 locations across the UK including Blackburn London, Liverpool ,Rotherham and Penzance.
Among the requirements participants need to be over 18, have a BMI of 30 or over and have already completed a recent weight loss program or used GLP-1 medications. That includes weight loss injectables like Mounjaro.
“One of my mates has some from overseas and tells me it’s better than Mounjaro,” she says.
“But until then I will be relying on my secret stash.
“I am proud to be jab stockpiled and thin restyled. I am not the only one.”
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