Surge in people injecting peptides prompts Health NZ needle exchange kits

Health New Zealand has started providing pharmacies with peptide-injecting kits as part of its needle exchange programme for people injecting peptides without a prescription.In the six weeks since the programme began, 2300 kits have been handed out to 190 participating pharmacies - and it has been suggested users include parents administering peptides to their children.But Medsafe has warned many of the unapproved peptides are illegal, untested and potentially dangerous."Peptides are small substances made naturally in the body that act as signals, helping to regulate things like growth, healing, hormones and our metabolism," Bronwyn Petrie, Health NZ group manager of population health as part of the needle exchange programme, told Morning Report on Thursday."I don't think we know the size and scale of the unapproved peptides in New Zealand, but what we do know is that internationally and here in New Zealand, there has been a huge spike in people injecting peptides."She said unapproved peptides were being promoted "widely" on social media, with claims they could slow ageing and help with muscle-building and losing weight.There had been a massive rise in the number of people approaching needle exchange services - set up in the 1980s to help drug users get their fix in a safer way - to inject peptides. It is funded by Health NZ, and considered one of the country's most successful harm reduction initiatives."And so they have [pulled] together a free pack for those providers and for our pharmacies to provide for those people," Petrie said."But critically, I really want to point out that this shouldn't be seen as an endorsement of unapproved peptides. It's about supporting our providers, responding to the demand, meeting people where they are, and ultimately preventing potential harm."In May 2026, Medsafe warned against anyone using them if they were not prescribed or sourced from a pharmacy."There is a very real risk that these products may be of poor quality, not contain the substance claimed on the label (if they are labelled), contain other harmful substance not on the label or not be sterile (and so may contain substantial quantities of germs or mould)."These products... are illegal and potentially harmful. Using them can cause serious and potentially life-threatening reactions."Specific products mentioned by Medsafe included BPC-157, CJC-1295, GHRP-6, Ipamorelin, Kisspeptin, KLOW, melanotan II, retatrutide, sealank, seamax, TB-500 and thymosin."Even if these products actually contain the advertised ingredient, there is no good scientific evidence that they work as advertised or that they are safe. Neither is there any evidence that these products are sterile, and because they are injected, it means there is a high risk of a life-threatening infection from using them."Petrie said that warning was "pretty clear"."I guess our role from Health New Zealand was really supporting our providers, making sure that they had information and the packs to provide. And really our key messages are if you are injecting peptides, you know, speak to a health professional, but also please use sterile equipment, never share needles and dispose of it safely."Petrie said needle exchanges offered confidentiality to encourage their use, so records of who accessed the services were not kept."But anecdotally we have heard you know, whether it be a gym user or whether it be a mother coming in wanting something for their child, it's a really wide range of people and I think that's what makes it even more challenging in many ways."She said she did not know the specifics in the case of a mother needing peptides for her child, but it "could be associated with growth or muscle healing or a whole range of different things"."The proliferation of peptides and their use is widespread and potentially growing. So this is just something that we wanted to do proactively... and it's only one thing that we're doing as well. [Health NZ has] just released a peptide podcast... and we're also working closely with the Ministry of Health and others thinking about how to respond to this."