F.D.A. Finds ‘Natural’ Diet Pills Laced With Drugs

[SidDithers]

Grady Jackson, a defensive tackle with the Atlanta Falcons, said he used the weight-loss capsules. Kathie Lee Gifford was enthusiastic about them on the “Today” show. Retailers like GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe sold them, no prescription required.

<snip>

“A large percentage of these products either contain dangerous undeclared ingredients or they might be outright fraudulent on the ingredients and have no effect at all,” said Michael Levy, the director of the F.D.A.’s division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance. “We don’t think consumers should be using these products.”

If a weight-loss supplement does contain an undeclared active pharmaceutical, the F.D.A. considers the product to be an illegal, unapproved drug. Doctors said undeclared drugs could cause problems on their own, like elevated blood pressure or seizures, could have toxic interactions with other medications and could make it difficult for physicians to diagnose patients.

Folks rail about Big Pharma, but the multi-billion dollar vitamin and supplements industry is just as profit-driven, but with significantly less oversight, than the pharmaceutical industry.

Sid

Edit: Sorry, forgot the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/business/10pills.html?ref=business

[tabatha]

1. I would not touch a diet pill with a ten foot pole.

There are good sources of vitamins, and very questionable ones.
It pays to be careful. It pays to try and eat right, instead.

[musette_sf]

2. i believe the product in question

are the questionable "Star Caps" from the questionable Nikki Haskell.

forgive me, but i thought this was found out about "Star Caps" years ago. i am actually sort of surprised to see this old news rear its head... now.

i suspect it is part of an orchestrated move to try and restrict sales of nutritional supplements.

i don't care what any "research" on the MSM says about vitamins and supplements. (1) i feel much better when i take them regularly and (2) i always try to get the best brands possible at a good health food store.

"Star Caps" were revealed to be dangerous crap years ago. and i never buy supplements at GNC or at Vitamin Shoppe anyway, i do not consider them to be reputable. i actually stopped shopping at GNC when they had a display window full of Pat Robertson's "drink this and knee press a Hummer just like me" so-called protein shake. and Vitamin Shoppe always carried questionable products, so no longer go there either.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. Yet another legislative failure of the Clinton administration

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 effectively stripped FDA supervision of the "nutriceutical" industry, allowing manufacturers to make whatever outrageous claim they wished for their "dietary supplements," provided that it is labeled as a dietary supplement and not as medicine.

[BuddhaGirl]

5. "allowing manufacturers to make whatever outrageous claim "

not true at all.


from DSHEA:

"NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT STATEMENTS

The DSHEA provides for the use of various types of statements on the label of dietary supplements, although claims may not be made about the use of a dietary supplement to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure a specific disease (unless approved under the new drug provisions of the FD&C Act). For example, a product may not carry the claim "cures cancer" or "treats arthritis." Appropriate health claims authorized by FDA--such as the claim linking folic acid and reduce risk of neural tube birth defects and the claim that calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis--may be made in supplement labeling if the product qualifies to bear the claim. Under DSHEA, firms can make statements about classical nutrient deficiency diseases--as long as these statements disclose the prevalence of the disease in the United States. In addition, manufacturers may describe the supplement's effects on "structure or function" of the body or the "well-being" achieved by consuming the dietary ingredient. To use these claims, manufacturers must have substantiation that the statements are truthful and not misleading and the product label must bear the statement "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." Unlike health claims, nutritional support statements need not be approved by FDA before manufacturers market products bearing the statements, however, the agency must be notified no later than 30 days after a product that bears the claim is first marketed. "

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dietsupp.html

[varkam]

6. They're forbidden from expressly stating that, correct. But...

and it's a big but, mfcs get around this by making the claim in a constructive fashion. It's what advertising is all about - getting the consumer to think something without you actually having to say it.

[Warpy]

4. The drug, bumetanide, is a loop diuretic

It's one of the more powerful diuretics used when the upper limit on a lasix dose is reached.

The danger with it is that it depletes the body of potassium. Your postassium drops to low and you drop dead of a lethal heart dysrhythmia.

I was expecting something a little more benign, like ephedrine.

This stuff is incredibly dangerous, folks. If you have any of this stuff around, discard it.

[beam me up scottie]

7. I guess that makes them "Big Pill".

But I'm sure they did it out of the goodness of their hearts. What humanitarians, they probably gave the stuff away.