Personal Injury Law

Dangerous Weight Loss Products - FDA Alert

By Jane Akre

Dangerous Weight Loss Products - FDA Alert

This is the third nationwide alert from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning weight loss products.

Many contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that can cause health problems such as seizures, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, heart attack and stroke.

Presumably if you obtain the ingredients in a prescription, they can still have side effects, but you would be under a doctor's care.

Some of the products are listed a dietary supplements and are sold and promoted on Web sites, retail stores and beauty salons. The words "natural" and "herbal" are essentially meaningless and used for advertising purposes.

Some of the items include:

• Fluoxetine - an antidepressant available by prescription only
• Sibutramine - an appetite suppressant available by prescription only at a dose much higher than the maximum daily dose for Meridia, a weight control product
• Bumetanide - a potential diuretic available by prescription only
• Phenytoin - an anti-seizure medication available by prescription only
  

The FDA is seeking product recalls from the companies involved. After a warning letter, seizures, injunctions, or criminal charges can be pursued by the agency. 

Look for products with the names like - Herbal Zenicol; Slimbionic; Xsvelten; 3 Days Fit; Slim Burn; Slim Waist Formula; Perfect Slim 5x; Fasting Diet, among other names listed on the FDA Web site.  The current list includes 72 products in all.

Last December, the FDA identified 28 different products marketed for weight loss that consumers should not purchase. The list expanded in January to include an additional 41 tainted products.  # 

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).