Hospital presentations linked to unapproved peptide use have surged across New South Wales, according to new data from NSW Health reported by the ABC. Monthly emergency department visits rose from 5 in July 2025 to almost 220 last month.

Across the longer window, 1,180 people turned up to emergency departments statewide between July last year and September this year seeking treatment after taking unapproved peptides. NSW Health named BPC-157, GHK-Cu, TB-500, retatrutide and CJC-1295 among the compounds that may be present in products that are not approved.

What the regulator approves and what it does not

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that make up proteins in the body, and a number of peptide-based medicines are approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration. The problem is everything outside that list, where unregulated products have exploded in popularity on social media with promises of weight loss, aging reversal and muscle growth.

Health Minister Ryan Park said such unapproved peptides could have serious side effects including liver and kidney damage, allergic reactions and severe vomiting. "People present to the emergency departments quite unwell and people need treatment, so this is not minor," he said.

The label is not the product

The sharper point in the coverage comes from Tim Jones, chair of child and young person's health at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, who said products often did not contain the ingredients listed, or contained them in "vastly different doses," or were mixed with other substances. That is a supply-chain failure rather than a verdict on any individual compound, and it is the distinction most of the online marketing erases.

Jones said the situation looked extreme and widespread, and that Tasmania mirrors what the NSW report shows. "It does look like there's been irreversible damage for people who will not come back from the health harm they've endured," he said.

How young the buyers are

Jones said he feared the figures were the "tip of the iceberg" because some effects are delayed. He also said he had seen people as young as 14 tell him they had been ordering peptides online, and that at least half of the young people he speaks to as a GP are aware of them or have considered accessing them.

What happens next

Park said the scale of the increase meant it would likely be a topic for discussion among health ministers over coming months. NSW Health is urging people to use only approved peptide products prescribed by a qualified practitioner, and anyone already using an unprescribed product to speak with a health professional first.