Diet Pills: Doing More Harm than Good?

You want to lose weight fast and are tempted to try St Nirvana Herbal Slimming capsules, a weight-loss dietary supplement that’s sold on the internet. St Nirvana’s label claims that it’s ‘100% herbal’ and includes ‘natural fruits, tea, hawthorn and cellulose’. But the label is missing two important warnings: first, that the bottled St Nirvana Herbal Slimming capsules are illegally spiked with sibutramine, a powerful prescription-strength stimulant, and second—that they could cause a heart attack.

Sibutramine may sound familiar, because it’s the generic name for the prescription weight-loss drug Reductil (known as Meridia in the US). In October 2010, following discussions between the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the drug’s distributor, the TGA withdrew Reductil from the Australian market. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved this drug in 1997, the results of a recent 10,000-patient, six-year study caused the agency to reconsider. The study showed that sibutramine upped the risk of nonfatal “cardiovascular events”, such as heart attack and stroke, by 16%.

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In June 2011, after the TGA had announced the Reductil recall, it also issued a consumer warning against St Nirvana Herbal Slimming capsules. The administration cited safety concerns relating to both sibutramine and phenolphthalein (an oral laxative in the blister packs)—two banned ingredients hiding in the pill.

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Unlike many other countries, Australia has high regulatory standards for supplements. The TGA ensures that low-risk complementary medicines don’t contain prohibited or dangerous substances, and that they are safely produced. But there’s a problem: the internet is swarming with so many unregulated products that it’s often unclear who actually manufactures a spiked supplement.

Therefore, sibutramine—and other potentially dangerous substances—may still be lurking in other dietary supplements available to anyone with a web browser and a credit card.

How to Protect Yourself

Be a cautious consumer

If you take a supplement, such as fish oil or calcium, with your doctor’s okay, look for the AUST L number on the label of the bottle or packet. The Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) requires all registered medicines to display a unique number on their label: either AUST L (listed) for mainly complementary medicines, or AUST R (registered) for mainly prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Make sure you buy medicines only from Australian pharmacies. Buying supplements or medicines online from overseas distributors is unsafe. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) hasn’t approved them for use in this country, and even if they have the same name on the packet, you can’t verify their quality, efficacy and ingredients. You should also avoid obtaining prescriptions by filling in consultations on the internet, as this is both illegitimate and unsafe.

You can import most therapeutic goods for your own use under the Personal Importation Scheme. But make sure you aren’t buying restricted, controlled or illegal items that Australian Customs will seize and possibly destroy. Some controlled substances that you may find in dietary supplements that come from the US are dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), ephedra (ma huang), ephedrine and norandrostenedione.

Say no to supplements

“I know of no diet drug or supplement that’s safe and effective in the long term,” says cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatston. Even if you do lose weight by taking a drug or supplement, research suggests that once you stop taking it, you will regain the weight and may be at greater risk of heart attack or stroke. The only sustainable way to lose weight and stay well is to eat healthily
and exercise regularly.

Talk about side effects

If you take a supplement and experience unexpected symptoms, report the problem to the TGA Adverse Medicines Events Line (1300 134 237; tga.gov.au). To inquire about suspected adverse reactions, call 1800 044 114 or email adr.reports@tag.gov.au.