You might want to get back on that diet plan, because those pills you’ve beeen taking to lose weight might just kill you.
The Health Ministry has just slapped a ban on two unregistered slimming products for containing the scheduled poison sibutramine.
The two slimming products are Collagen Slim and Beautiful Slim Body, marketed widely on the internet.
Sibutramine is an oral anorexiant related to amphetamines that has been linked to increased cardiovascular activity in users and has been known to trigger strokes. Among other side effects include increased blood pressure, dry mouth and throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache and sleeping difficulty.
It has been pulled off the market in the US, the UK, the European Union, China, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and India for its harmful side effects.
MOH senior director of Pharmaceutical Services, Datuk Eisah Abdul Rahman said tests conducted by the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB ) found that Collagen Slim contains excessive dose of sibutramine.
“Sibutramine is a controlled drug used for the treatment of obesity. All medicine containing sibutramine has been withdrawn registration on Dec 23, 2012 for increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” she said in a statement.
Story: The Star Online
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