The high cost of weight-loss medication is a “regressive tax on being thin” because the outlay outweighs any saving on food costs for all but the highest earners. Someone needs to have discretionary income of nearly £100,000 a year to actually save money after covering the £1,200 annual cost of GLP-1 medication, according to an analysis by the consultancy Baringa. Most users buy the drugs with a private prescription.
A GLP-1 user with £39,000 left over after tax and essentials will spend £481 less a year on food. But it is not until someone has £97,500 left to spend after tax and other outgoings that their grocery spend is reduced by £1,200, according to Baringa. The cost is an average for the pill form of the medication.
For “everyone else” the annual cost of the drug outweighs any reduction in spending on groceries, Winters said. In effect, GLP-1s become a regressive tax on being thin.” “We’re already seeing early signs that some people cancel their prescription after a few months because the cost adds up – but the weight comes back once you stop,” he added. In a recent report, the charity said the government “needs to ensure that the people who benefit from [weight-loss medication] most are not priced out of accessing them, and that we don’t end up with wider health inequalities caused by obesity due to affordability and access”.
It is estimated that 5% of adults, or nearly 3 million people, in Britain are on weight-loss medication, while 9% have taken it at some point, according to separate research by accountancy firm PwC. It expects this number to rise to 13% by the end of next year. About 60% of GLP-1 users are women, according to PwC.
Among current users 6% come from households with income of less than £20,000, whereas 20% are from the wealthiest, earning above £100,000. Dr Leyla Hannbeck, the executive chair of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said that access to GLP-1s on the NHS is “limited only to a small eligible cohort and many people who might benefit are unable to access treatment at all unless they can afford private care”. The price of weight-loss drugs varies significantly depending on the retailer, drug, dose and whether any discounts or subscription is being used.
Hannbeck said there had been some price volatility – notably in summer 2025 the cost of Mounjaro more than doubled – but the market was becoming more competitive. Those working in the industry regularly see a pattern where a patient is losing weight but ends up discontinuing treatment due to cost pressures and so regains it, said Hannbeck said.
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