Weight Loss Products: Public Notification – Undeclared Drug Ingredients

Last Updated on July 23, 2014 by Joseph Gut – thasso

July 22, 2014 –  Over and over again do we read announcements by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  such as the most recent one below. The producers and vendors of this type of “health” products put patients knowingly at high risk of individual health damage (i.e., adverse effects, of which some may be fatal). This is an epidemic and has to stop, and the responsables have to be held accounted for. Look here and here for lists of the unbelievably many tainted “health” products affected. The referred to article follows here in italics.

The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase or use Mix Fruit Slimming, Lingzhi Cleansed Slim Tea, 24 Ince, Lipo 8 Burn Slim Capsules, Sliming (sic) Diet By Pretty White, and Trim-Fast Slimming Softgel products promoted and sold for weight loss on various websites and possibly in some retail stores. FDA laboratory analysis confirmed that these products contains sibutramine. Laboratory analysis also confirmed that Mix Fruit Slimming contains phenolphthalein.

These products pose a threat to consumers because sibutramine is known to substantially increase blood pressure and/or pulse rate in some patients and may present a significant risk for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. These products may also interact, in life-threatening ways, with other medications a consumer may be taking. Studies have that indicated that phenolphthalein presents a cancer-causing risk.

Background: Sibutramine is a controlled substance that was removed from the market in October 2010 for safety reasons. Phenolphthalein is a chemical that is not an active ingredient in any approved drug in the United States.

Recommendation: The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase or use these products.

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

• Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm

Here, we may also take into account the danger of such products in the light of interindividuel variability in drug responses.  Individuals will handle these “health” product ingredients very differently, just as they handle regular drugs very differently. While some individuals may seemingly profit from taking such products (even if tainted), for other individuals such products may be deadly.