The MHRA is advising consumers not to use the following unlicensed herbal products due to concerns about possible side effects. Anyone currently using any of these products should stop taking it and consult their healthcare professional immediately with the details contained in this notification.
The following products have been tested and found to contain undeclared pharmaceuticals, in most cases sibutramine. Sibutramine (Reductil) has been withdrawn in the EU on safety grounds, due to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Any product containing it considered harmful to public health. Other harmful ingredients associated with unlicensed slimming products are:
- Rimonabant - recently removed from the marketplace has been associated with increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts and has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse reactions in the EU over the last two years.
- Phenytoin - an antiseizure drug.
- Phenolphthalein - a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent
- Bumetanide – a diuretic
- Fenfluramine and nitrosofenfluramine - causes liver damage
- Ephadrine - can only be sold or supplied in licensed medicinal products through pharmacies in the UK
- Thyroxine - used to treat thyroid disorders
- Hydroxycut - liver damage
- Aristolochia - contains toxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acids associated with kidney failure and cancer. Several hundred cases of kidney failure linked with the ingestion of Aristolochia have been reported worldwide and include two UK cases. A number of these patients, including one UK patient, have since gone on to develop cancer. The use of Aristolochia in unlicensed medicines, such as this TCM, has been prohibited since July 1999.
Consumers should always seek medical advice before taking slimming products.
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24 Feb 2012 | Herbal slimming products found to contain potentially dangerous undeclared pharmaceuticals
We are advising consumers not to buy the potentially dangerous herbal slimming products specified in this warning, as laboratory tests found evidence of pharmaceutical ingredients not declared on the label that may pose serous health risks.
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11 Aug 2011 | Herbal slimming products found to contain potentially dangerous undeclared pharmaceuticals
The MHRA is advising consumers not to use the herbal products specified in this warning. This is because laboratory tests found evidence of pharmaceutical ingredients not declared on the label that may pose serious health risks.
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01 Jul 2011 | Canadian authorities issue warning over unauthorised Chinese weight loss medicine Fat Burner No. 1
The Canadian authorities have advised consumers not to use unauthorised Chinese herbal weight loss medicine Fat Burner No. 1 after laboratory tests found the product to contain two pharmaceutical ingredients that are not declared on the label and that may pose serious health risks: a chemical similar to sibutramine (N,N- didesmethylsibutramine), and sildenafil.
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05 Nov 2010 | Warning about 'herbal slimming pills' containing banned prescription only medicine sibutramine
Recently the MHRA has received a number of warnings from overseas medicines regulatory agencies about 'herbal slimming pills' many of which contain undeclared pharmaceuticals such as sibutramine.
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06 Oct 2010 | Herbal product alert: Payouji (or Paiyouji) tea and Pai You Guo (Slim Capsules)
The MHRA is advising consumers not to use Payouji (or Paiyouji) tea and Pai You Guo (Slim Capsules), which is an unlicensed herbal medicine, due to concerns about possible side-effects.
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16 Sep 2010 | Warnings received from overseas medicines agencies
In recent months the Agency has received a number of alerts from overseas medicine regulators about herbal medicinal products which carry a public health risk. While there is no evidence that these products are available on the UK market, consumers are advised to be cautious.
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10 Jun 2009 | US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning about weight loss products linked to liver damage
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have updated a warning to consumers about a weight loss supplement, Hydroxycut, following reports of liver damage and one death in the US.
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12 Feb 2008 | Warning issued about slimming drugs containing ephedrine
The Danish Medicines Agency and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration have issued strong warnings about the Therma Power slimming drug following the death of a 36 year old man.
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01 Nov 2007 | Illegal herbal remedies that contain Aristolochia: vigilance needed
Aristolochia is a plant genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Various Aristolochia species have been used in herbal medicines worldwide as anti-inflammatory agents for gout, arthritis, rheumatism, and chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Products that contain Aristolochia are illegal. Anyone with information about the sale or supply of products suspected to contain Aristolochia should contact the MHRA immediately.
