Selling "Tirze", Ozempic or Wegovy in Singapore? It Is a Prescription Drug, and the Fine Goes Up to S$100,000

"Tirze available, pm for price." Posts like this keep turning up in Filipino buy-and-sell groups in Singapore, next to the ube jam and the Jollibee chickenjoy runs. The pens on offer are Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy, or unbranded vials of tirzepatide.

Here is the problem. In Singapore, all of these are prescription-only medicines. Selling them without a licence breaks the Health Products Act, and the penalty goes up to a S$100,000 fine, three years in jail, or both.

If you sell them, stop. If you buy them, read the part on what you might be injecting.

What "tirze" and the other weight-loss pens are

These drugs mimic gut hormones that control blood sugar and appetite. You inject them once a week. People lose weight because they feel full sooner and eat less.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) approved Mounjaro for diabetes in 2023 and for weight management in 2025. Wegovy was approved in February 2025 and became available on private prescription from 12 July 2025. In every case, a doctor has to prescribe it.

The law sellers are up against

Selling a prescription medicine without a licence is an offence under the Health Products Act. It does not matter whether you sell one pen to a friend or fifty through a Facebook group, or whether the pen is genuine.

The penalty, as stated by the Minister for Health in Parliament in February 2024:

• A fine of up to S$100,000
• Up to three years in jail
• Or both

That is a big jump from the old Medicines Act, which capped the fine at S$5,000.

HSA also states plainly that selling prescription medicines on local e-commerce platforms is illegal. That covers Carousell, Shopee, Lazada, Facebook Marketplace, Telegram channels and group chats.

HSA is watching

HSA runs surveillance on online listings and works with the platforms to take them down. It removed more than 7,000 listings of illegal health products in 2024, and more than 2,300 in 2025. In one two-week operation in March 2026, it warned 152 sellers. Weight-loss products sit on its list of what it removes.

"Pasalubong lang 'to." Bringing them from Manila

A lot of these pens come in suitcases from the Philippines, where some sellers advertise them without a prescription. Bringing them in to resell is still illegal supply here.

HSA's personal medication rules allow you to bring in up to three months' supply for your own use, with:

• A copy of a valid prescription or a doctor's letter
• The medicine in its original packaging, labelled with your name

You cannot bring in medicine for another person, except immediate family members it was prescribed to. A pen for your officemate, your employer or a buyer in your group chat does not count.

Why buyers should worry too

A pen from a group chat has none of the checks a pharmacy pen has. Regulators in Europe and the UK have warned about fake semaglutide and tirzepatide sold online and on social media. Some buyers have landed in hospital.

The risks:

• It may be fake. Counterfeit pens can hold the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or nothing at all.
• It may be spoiled. These pens need refrigeration. One that sat in a hot suitcase or a courier van may not work.
• No one checks if it is safe for you. A doctor screens for conditions where these drugs are not suitable, such as some thyroid cancers and pancreatitis.
• The side effects are real. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation are common. Rarer problems include pancreatitis and gallstones.

If you want to try them, do it the legal way

See a doctor in Singapore. GPs and specialist clinics can assess you and prescribe Mounjaro or Wegovy if they suit you, and a licensed pharmacy dispenses it. You get a genuine pen, the right dose, and someone to call when the side effects hit.

Our guide to seeing a doctor in Singapore without the sticker shock covers clinic costs on a work pass.

How to report a seller

You can report suspected illegal sales to HSA's Enforcement Branch:

• Phone: 6866 3485
• Email: hsa_is@hsa.gov.sg

HSA asks for clear details and your contact information so it can follow up, and keeps your identity confidential.

Kababayan, isang paalala

We know the reasons. Some sellers need extra income for the padala. Some buyers want to look and feel better and cannot afford a clinic. But one Facebook post can turn into a criminal record, a fine bigger than years of savings, and a jail term far from home.

Kung may kakilala kang nagbebenta, i-share mo ito sa kanila.