NHS manager told to stop selling gummies 'laced with prescription-only sleeping drug'

An NHS manager has been stopped from selling children's gummies allegedly laced with undeclared levels of a prescription-only sleeping drug, the Guardian can reveal.

- Matthew Weaver

Magnesium glycinate gummies for children who have trouble sleeping have been sold since March 2024 by Nutrition Ignition, an Epsom-based company that is owned by Sally Westcott, whose other job is a clinical therapy lead at Epsom and St Helier university hospitals NHS trust.

The Chinese-manufactured gummies are advertised as "a natural way to help your child sleep better" and are described by Westcott on Facebook as "especially beneficial in children with ADHD and autism".

But the adverts and the packaging do not reveal that the raspberry-flavoured sweets allegedly contain significant levels of melatonin - a hormone used for treating sleep problems that is available in the UK only if prescribed by a doctor.

This week the drug regulator ordered Westcott to remove the gummies from her company's website and from the online retailer Amazon while it investigates. But the product remains available on eBay.

Westcott said she was complying with the investigation and denied knowingly selling a prescription-only substance.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was alerted to the gummies by two mothers who had bought the product online for their children.