Illegal peptides are everywhere. Now authorities are cracking down

The ABC last week reported several specialists were deeply concerned over potential cancer risks associated with an unregulated skin tanning peptide. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has named unapproved peptides as a new priority focus area.

Unregulated peptides are often hyped as performance or image enhancing, and have exploded in popularity online.

The TGA says its response to unregulated peptides might include product seizures, infringement notices and civil or criminal penalties where appropriate.

Australia's medicines regulator has launched a crackdown on unregulated peptides, saying an increase in advertising, imports and supply of the unlawful drugs is posing a risk to consumer safety.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has moved to include unapproved peptides in its priority focus areas, alongside products like weight loss medications, vapes and sunscreens.

There has been an explosion in popularity of unregulated injectable peptides in Australia, driven by social media users promoting their supposed benefits for health and beauty.

The products are also often hyped as performance enhancing or marketed for weight loss or anti-aging, with social media influencers increasingly creating content instructing people how to buy and use them.

The TGA's chief Anthony Lawler said the decision reflected a "deliberate, risk-based response" to an evolving peptides market.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) head Prof Tony Lawler said the availability of unapproved peptide products had increased. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)

"As the availability of unapproved peptide products has increased, so too has evidence of potential risk to consumers," Professor Lawler said.

The move signals a "scaling up" in the TGA's response to unregulated peptides on the back of increased imports and supply, emerging safety concerns and various illegal products flooding social media pages.

Have you come across injectable peptides yet? They're everywhere on social media right now and we want to know why people are using them, and what their experience has been like.

The regulator warned responses to the importation, supply, manufacturing or advertising of unlawful peptides might include product seizures, infringement notices and even civil or criminal penalties where appropriate.

The Australian Medical Association's public health committee chair Michael Bonning said it was the "strongest action the TGA has taken on peptides".

"The influencer pathways that are being used to sell these drugs and bring them into the country illegally are hur