Mounjaro prescriptions have rocketed in the last 12 months.
County Durham has seen the fifth highest rate of Mounjaro jabs prescribed by doctors in the country. That’s according to data from the national Open Prescribing service analysed by the Reach Data Unit.
This comes amid huge national rises in take-up for so-called “skinny jabs” and has seen NHS bosses in our region – as reported by ChronicleLive – issues warnings about how to ensure they are used safely. Nationally, Mounjaro prescriptions have rocketed from 18,501 in May 2024 to more than 147,000 in May 2025. That works out at 197 an hour.
The drug’s use has now outstripped that of key anti-breast cancer medication Tamoxifen, for example. Mounjaro is an branded version of the drug Tirzepatide which can be used to treat diabetes and obesity.
Official figures show huge disparities in prescriptions being made out – with one North East area seeing less than 200 across more than 12 months, while another saw close to 25,000. The latter was County Durham.
There, doctors have written out prescriptions at a rate of 461 per 10,000 people in the last 12 months. By comparison the national average is 190 per 10,000 people. The highest rate in the country is North Lincolnshire – with 543 for every 10,000 people.
To access the drug on the NHS now you must have a BMI which is higher than 40, along with four or more weight-related health issues – these include diabetes and high blood pressure. County Durham has long had among the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the country.
You can see how many Mounjaro prescriptions have been issued in your local area using our interactive map and inputting your postcode.
Across the North East, this is the latest data around how many Mounjaro prescriptions have been issued between February 2024 and May 2025:
- County Durham – 24,315, 461 per 10,000 people
- Newcastle and Gateshead – 4,854, 96 per 10,000 people
- Northumberland – 1,784, 55 per 10,000 people
- North Tyneside – 198, 9 per 10,000 people
- Sunderland – 5,977, 215 per 10,000 people
- South Tyneside – 2,720, 183 per 10,000 people
Last week NHS bosses in the North East issued updated guidance around the use of Mounjaro. With its cost privately rising health bosses expect the already surging demand to grow yet further. This is despite the fact that as it stands eligibility is tightly-controlled
In an update last week, NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board boss Samantha Allen said: “You may have seen recent media coverage about the cost of the weight loss drug Mounjaro® (Tirzepatide) rising for private patients from September. This increase will not affect the medication’s cost to the NHS.
“However, we expect this change may prompt more patients to ask about accessing Mounjaro on the NHS or to seek advice if they are considering stopping taking the medication To support this, we have updated information for the public about Mounjaro/Tirzepatide on our ICB website and also shared information with GP practices to help them respond to patient enquiries.”
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