Why Are People Injecting Themselves with Peptides?

Health and wellness influencers are hawking unapproved treatments on the gray market. The future of the F.D.A.—and the health of consumers—is at stake.

By Dhruv Khullar

April 6, 2026

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has attacked F.D.A. restrictions on unapproved peptides.Illustration by Sophi Miyoko Gullbrants

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Dhruv Khullar, a contributing writer at The New Yorker, is a practicing physician and an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. He writes about medicine, health care, and politics.

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