'Skinny jabs' carry weighty health risks
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Hello, I’m Rebecca Barry, Health Correspondent at ITV News. I’m also a mum-of-two in my 40s and in my social circles there’s a lot of chat about so-called “skinny jabs”.
People discuss where and how to buy the weight-loss injections and the dramatic results - but you don’t hear much about the potentially serious risks.
“It felt like I'd had a car crash inside”… those were the words of 46-year-old Lorna, who told us she bought weight-loss drugs online from a registered pharmacy.
She developed pancreatitis, a potentially fatal condition, had to have her gallbladder removed and now lives with chronic bowel problems.
“People just think it’s a miracle injection and you get skinny,” she told us, “I don’t think people are aware it can cause long-term medical conditions.”
ITV News discovered the UK’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, has been alerted to 18 deaths with suspected links to weight-loss injections over the past four years.
When used for obesity or type 2 diabetes, experts say the benefits of these medications outweigh the risks. But not if they’re used without the proper regulation and medical guidance.
And buying these medications from dealers on the black market only increases the potential risks.
I met 24-year-old Paige Roberts who told me she was scared she “was going to die” after injecting herself in the stomach with a syringe she bought from a friend of a friend.
We sent the syringe, still wrapped in its pink, shiny packaging, to a laboratory to be tested - and the results were scary.
All medicines carry a risk of side effects and weight-loss drugs are no exception.
I think that message needs to get through, because for many it seems the all-consuming desperation to get skinny is eclipsing the potential risks.
Hospice care gave my mum a dignified death - others might not have that chance
My mum Diane was 51 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, writes ITV News’ Daniel Hewitt.
At the beginning of 2014, her condition deteriorated quickly. That is when we were referred to our local hospice.
They saved my mum from dying in pain, and they saved her from dying in a hospital.
For our special Tonight programme focusing on the financial crisis facing this sector, I went been back to St Giles Hospice in Staffordshire for the first time in a decade…
You can watch Daniel’s very personal report on ITVX and catch up on the full Tonight programme here.
Do crime gangs control UK prisons - from inside and out?
Britain's prisons are effectively under the control of serious organised crime groups, two former prison governors have warned.
ITV News has uncovered evidence that those organisations are grooming prison employees and that members of criminal gangs are even taking jobs inside.
Reporter Sam Holder spoke to one working prison officer who said he could earn £2,000 a time to smuggle a mobile phone into an inmate.
Catch up with Sam’s full investigation on ITVX.
Nova Festival survivor says she 'relives' October 7 attacks 'every day'
Noam Ben David is a survivor of Israel’s deadliest day - except there are times she doesn't feel like a survivor at all, writes Correspondent John Ray.
Nothing, she told ITV News, prepared her for the anguish and depression with which she has struggled for the past 13 months.
Even harder, is the grief for the man she calls her "angel", her boyfriend David Newman who was killed that day. "It is a nightmare from which I never wake up,” she said.
You can watch John’s interview with Noam on ITVX.
She told her story as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect - but is a similar breakthrough in Gaza likely? Senior International Correspondent John Irvine reported this week from Tel Aviv.
We try out the brain MOT that could spot signs of dementia earlier
I’m sealed inside a white cubic room, shielded from magnetic fields outside, writes ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew. On my head is what looks like a bike helmet connected by dozens of wires to a microchip-filled backpack.
It’s a quantum powered scanner which scientists say can help detect the early signs of conditions like epilepsy, dementia and MS.
You can watch Martin being hooked up and scanned on ITVX…
Is Florida losing its appeal because of extreme weather?
The promise of long sunny days, beautiful beaches and a relaxed holiday vibe has lured thousands to make a life in Florida.
But for many this tropical paradise is quickly losing its appeal as successive hurricanes have left many residents beaten down by repeated efforts to rebuild their lives and homes only to see them battered again.
ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia reports for On Assignment from the ‘Sunshine State’ on the dreams that have soured…
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'Porch pirates' on the rise: What should you do if your parcel is stolen?
It’s a growing phenomena, captured by doorbell cameras up and down the country - and it could explode with Christmas looming large.
The number of incidents where parcels are being snaffled from doorsteps by so-called porch pirates has soared to an estimated 3 million in the last year.
So what can you do if you believe someone has made off with your parcel - ITV News reporter Pablo Taylor investigates…
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This week they chatted to ITV Granada’s Caroline Whitmore about all things Oz…
What’s coming up…
Wednesday December 4: Scottish Government’s 2025/26 Budget to be published
Wednesday December 4: Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin delivers annual lecture in Whitehall
Thursday December 5: Brianna Ghey killer in bid to challenge murder sentence at Royal Courts of Justice. Eddie Ratcliffe was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years in February
And finally… a £25,000 flight of fancy…
There are plenty of flight simulator games you can play on a computer or console but Craig Cullingworth has taken it to the next level…
At a cost of £25,000, he’s constructed a replica cockpit of a Boeing 737 in his spare bedroom in Leeds.
Take a flight with Craig on ITVX or on our Instagram channel.