The sale of over-the-counter melatonin in the UK is illegal, but a reader is worried because it is readily available on eBay

I have discovered that melatonin is being sold on eBay in the UK, despite being banned for sale over the counter. I’m concerned people can buy it online without establishing their suitability or the appropriate dosage.

ME, London

Until 1995 the sleep aid melatonin was sold in health food shops as a nutritional supplement, but then it was classed as a medicine and is now only available on prescription in the UK.

However, while it’s illegal to sell it or distribute it here, it’s not illegal to import it for personal use from countries where it is freely available.

Your search has thrown up numerous offers to UK customers from US and Australian sellers. eBay confirms these are breaking its rules.

“Melatonin is not restricted to the same level in the US, so we do allow the sale of it on eBay.com – but there are filters in place to stop these listings appearing on the UK site,” says a spokesperson. “These appear to have failed in this instance and we are taking action against the seller and investigating how this happened.”

eBay says it has removed the offending listings. However, a week later a new search uncovered more.

These, too, have been deleted, but sellers can, and do, get round the filters because eBay can’t put a block on the term for melatonin as it is not a banned substance and blocks are effective across all eBay sites, including countries where it can be sold legally.

To add to the confusion UK shops are permitted to sell natural remedies that encourage the production of melatonin. eBay’s solution is to restrict where melatonin can be shipped.

“However – items do slip through, so the prohibited items team have a list of things they will manually sweep for on a regular basis,” says the spokesperson.