Researchers have warned that social media-fuelled peptide use among young Australians is outpacing regulatory and clinical responses.
A University of Queensland researcher has co-penned an article in The Lancet that intensifies calls intensify calls for tougher regulation and stronger clinical preparedness amid the rapid rise in illegal injectable peptide use among young Australians.
Dr Timothy Piatkowski, of UQ’s School of Public Health, said Australia’s regulatory and public health systems were failing to keep pace with the growth of an unregulated peptide market targeting young people seeking muscle gain, fat loss and anti-ageing benefits.
The article, published this month in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, was a joint comment piece by Dr Piatkowski, Assistant Professor Kyle T. Ganson, of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work, and Associate Professor Jason Nagata, of the University of California’s Department of Paediatrics.
They said the increasing online promotion of illicit injectable peptides had raised concern as an emerging public health issue among young people, highlighting peptides such as BPC-157, CJC-1295, and Retatrutide as particularly problematic.
They said these were marketed online, often outside established regulatory frameworks.
“Regulatory and health system responses remain misaligned with how injectable peptides are accessed and used,” they wrote.
“Priorities now urgently lie in disrupting digital supply pathways, addressing underlying drivers of use, and equipping clinicians to identify and respond to injectable peptide use in practice.”
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Dr Piatkowski said the craze was fuelled by social media and needed a coordinated response.
“We need to urgently address the underlying drivers of peptide demand, limit online access, and better equip clinicians to identify and respond to peptide use,” he said.
“Australia’s current public health response poorly aligns with the online, profit-driven and unregulated peptide market.
“Clinicians are unprepared, which is why health systems need to prioritise training, early identification, and finding a better way to reduce harm in young people.”
Although some peptide products exist within regulated pharmaceutical settings, including medicines such as semaglutide, the researchers warned a parallel unregulated market was expanding rapidly with minimal oversight.
They also noted that boys and young men may be particularly vulnerable because of growing pressures around muscularity, leanness and appearance enhancement.
The role of social media platforms in normalising peptide use was another concerning issue, with the researchers noting that TikTok content tagged “peptides” had attracted more than 230 million views as of April 2026.
As reported in The Medical Republic last month, the importation of unapproved peptide products has caught the attention of the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Last week the TGA also issued a safety advisory about the risks of importing and using unapproved peptide products that are promoted online.
Professor Anthony Lawler, deputy secretary of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and head of the TGA, said Australians “should be very cautious about buying peptide products online, particularly from overseas websites or through online platforms or social media”.
“Many of these products are unapproved, poorly labelled and not subject to Australian safety or quality standards,” he said.
“If you don’t know exactly what’s in the vial, where it was made or whether it’s sterile, you could be putting your health at serious risk. You could also incur financial loss if the product is intercepted at the border and cannot be lawfully released.”
Professor Robyn Langham AM, the TGA’s chief medical advisor, said the biggest risks with unapproved peptide products were not knowing what was in the vial.
“Unmarked vials, code‑only labels, or missing ingredient and dosing information are major red flags,” she said.
“To reduce your risk, you should buy therapeutic goods only from a legitimate Australian pharmacy or supplier, and talk to your doctor or another health professional, especially before using injectable products.”
Dr Piatkowski, the co-founder of Australia’s only peer-led steroid education and harm reduction program Steroid QNECT, said many young people viewed peptides as safer alternatives to anabolic steroids.
“These illegal substances are extremely easy to buy online, and we are concerned by the lack of clinical evidence available on the safety of peptide use,” he said.
He warned that many users lacked knowledge about sterile injecting practices, increasing risks of blood-borne viruses including HIV and hepatitis C, while unsafe preparation and administration techniques could lead to dosing errors and adverse effects.
The researchers said clinicians were often unprepared to identify peptide use because patients may not perceive peptides as drugs and therefore fail to disclose their use, even when presenting with symptoms such as gastrointestinal issues, endocrine disruption or injection-related complications.
They called for coordinated regulatory action targeting influencer marketing, affiliate-linked sales and online promotion of “research chemicals”, alongside stronger import controls for unapproved injectable peptides.
They also urged health systems to improve clinician education around emerging appearance- and performance-enhancing drug behaviours in young people, including strategies for initiating non-judgemental conversations, recognising indicators of peptide use and supporting harm reduction.
Dr Piatkowski said prevention efforts also needed to address the social and psychological factors driving demand.
“The unregulated supply of peptides needs to be shut down, and we also need to address what is fuelling their demand including pressures relating to muscularity, weight loss and beauty,” he said.
Dr Piatkowski said he planned to expand his program Steroid QNECT – a hotline where people can get confidential advice on body and performance-enhancement drugs.
“An even bigger issue is that peptide users don’t identify as drug users and usually deal with the problem on their own rather than seeking help, but Steroid QNECT helps alleviate this through education and facilitating harm reduction,” he said.
