FDA Warns Against Three More Weight Loss Pills

The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) is always busy evaluating and testing weight loss products in an ongoing battle to clear the store shelves and on-line stores of dangerous diet pills and weight loss supplements. On 22 December 2008, the FDA issued a press release containing 28 weight loss products to avoid. On the 8th of January 2009, the FDA expanded the list of tainted weight loss products to include 41 more dangerous weight loss pills. The last update to this list (now containing 72 products) was done on March 20, 2009 via press release. The FDA will continue to update this list on an ongoing basis.

New products are launched into this largely unregulated market on a daily basis, and it is obvious that there is no way the FDA will ever be able to test all the weight loss products on offer. This does not mean all diet pills commercially available are unsafe and / or ineffective. On the contrary, many of them can actually help you lose weight faster, but…..it is of the utmost importance that you make informed decisions when deciding to try new weight loss products. It is absolutely crucial to take responsibility for looking after your own health, so do not rely solely on FDA warning lists and double check promises made by vendors online. The only way to make informed decisions about weight loss pills is to understand which ingredients are contained in products you consider using, and then to explore the potential impact of these ingredients on your health.

Do your research on your next weight loss product thoroughly making use of the internet and any other sources of information you may have access too, for example your local pharmacist. With the overload of information available on the internet it is not always so easy to distinguish between good and bad advice, so choose a few websites (avoid those selling one product or product range) you can trust to help you make sense of the information out there. And get a second opinion every now and then just to make sure these sites are still trustworthy. If you are unable to find the necessary information, put in a request to one of your favorite sites to investigate the product for you, or choose something else that you can find information on.

The difficulty with many weight loss products is that they affect different people in different ways, and often contain ingredients that can interact with other medications you may already be taking. So just because your friend used it and didn’t experience any nasty side effects, does not necessarily mean that it would be safe and effective for you too. Do your own research, and if you are unsure of how the product will affect your health or whether it will interact with other medication you are taking (especially chronic medication), ask for the advice of your doctor first.

Some of the products listed on the FDA’s tainted list contain the same active ingredients that that are found in prescription medications only to be used under medical supervision; sometimes in even higher doses! These very dangerous diet pills are freely available without prescription, and are most often used without the knowledge of family, friends and doctors. They are easily obtained by adults and teenagers alike, and it really is scary to consider the potential cost and heartache that can be brought about by the use and abuse of these rather popular weight loss products. The ingredients to be on the lookout for include:

• Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant that should be available by prescription only. It suppresses your appetite by manipulating the levels of specific neurotransmitters. This is also the ingredient most commonly found in many of these products. Inappropriate use of sibutramine can cause high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), palpitations, heart attack and stroke.
• Rimonabant is a dangerous a drug not approved for marketing in the United States. It is also an appetite suppressant that works by manipulating neurotransmitters, but it carries with it an incredibly high risk of serious psychiatric problems. The use of Rimonabant has been directly linked to suicides.
• Bumetanide is a potent diuretic available by prescription only. Side effects linked to the use of bumetanide include serious fluid and electrolyte loss, increased risk of hypertension, and fainting. Significant interaction with other drugs, including lithium and dixogin, can lead to increased risk of toxicity.
• Cetilistat is an experimental obesity drug. Clinical trials are underway in the US, Japan and Europe. Its safety is not yet established, and there are already indications that use of this drug can result in the rejection of transplants. It works by blocking fat absorption, and appears to have similar embarrassing side-effects to Orlistat (also a fat blocker), namely oily stools, fecal incontinence, rectal discharge and urgency to use the toilet. Orlistat (Xenical and Alli) is FDA approved though.
• Fenproporex is a stimulant not approved for marketing in the United States. Side effects include headaches, increased blood pressure, palpitations, arrhythmia and even sudden death.
• Fluoxetine is the active ingredient in Prozac, a prescription anti-depressant. It also manipulates the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain to suppress appetite. It can increase the risk of suicide in children, teenagers and young adults. Other side effects include rashes, hives, nausea, headache, anxiety and the life-threatening serotonin syndrome.
• Furosemide is a potent diuretic that can cause profound dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Overdoses can lead to seizures, kidney damage and coma.
• Phenytoin is an anti-seizure medication that can pose a risk to consumers allergic or hypersensitive to Phenytoin.
• Phenolphthalein was used in a number of laxatives available over the counter, but has been removed because of concerns over links to cancer. Studies suggests that the use of Phenolphthalein can damage or cause mutations to DNA.

The three new weight loss products that have been added to the list are Herbal Xenicol, Slimbionic, and Xsvelten. The current list now includes the following 72 products listed (in alphabetical order) with the ingredients found during FDA tests:

* Not to be confused with the line of meal replacement and related products that are marketed as conventional foods under the brand name “Slim-Fast®”. Unilever United States Inc., the manufacturer of Slim-Fast® reported that the Slim Fast product which appears on this list is not in any way associated with, sponsored or approved by, or otherwise related in any way to the Slim-Fast® brand of meal replacement and related products.

The FDA advises anyone who have used any products on the list above (or non-prescription weight loss products containing the active ingredients discussed) to stop taking them immediately and to consult their respective doctors. The FDA is seeking product recalls for all these products and may, if necessary, take additional enforcement steps to protect consumers from these products. Note then, that whilst many of these products are still available on the market, this does not necessarily mean they have been reformulated and are now safe to use.

Serious side effects and concerns can be reported by medical professionals or consumers to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail, fax or phone.

• Click here to report online
• Regular Mail: use postage-paid FDA form 3500 and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
• Fax: 800-FDA-0178
• Phone: 800-FDA-1088

Sources:
FDA Uncovers Additional Tainted Weight Loss Products
Questions and Answers about FDA’s Initiative Against Contaminated Weight Loss Products