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Dangers Of Chinese Diet Pills

With the Christmas and New Year weight loss season about to get in to full swing, consumers are being warned to exercise extreme caution when buying diet pills from China and the Far East.

Dangers of Chinese Diet PillsDespite being banned in many countries, online retailers are still pushing these dangerous pills worldwide with huge health implications for some people.

Cheap diet pills from China and the Far East may not be just the bargain it seems!

The diet pills watchdog undertakes another special investigation in order to bring you the facts.

So What Are Chinese Diet Pills?

Chinese diet pills are normally only available from online retailers from websites that attempt to look like they are English focused. The idea is to fool the potential buyer into thinking the site is based in the US or the UK and is a trustworthy place to buy diet pills.

This is usually far from the truth as in most cases the websites are owned by all manner of people from large businesses, operating on the edge of respectability to one-man bands operating out of their bedrooms.

The only thing that matters is to get the sale and make some money, and often that is at the expense of the people who fall victim to such schemes. Most times you are buying some faked and copied tablets with very little possibility that they will ever work. Rather more disturbingly, you may well be buying diet pills containing dangerous ingredients that cause direct damage to the body.

So How Can Chinese Diet Pills be Dangerous?

The biggest danger is that the diet pills are produced outside of the regulations in China. Over recent years, the Chinese government have cracked down on the way that over the counter medicine and dietary supplements works. This was because in the 80’s and 90’s there was an explosion in the number of companies producing and selling these types of products.

As a result a “Blue Hat” scheme was introduced:

The Health Food Administration Regulations began the registration process known as the “blue hat” registration. The “blue hat” is the nickname for the small blue logo a product receives after being successfully registered. This registration gave dietary supplements limited advertising rights, potency restrictions and limited functional claims that could be made after going through a lengthy and costly registration process.

Source: http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/contents/view_columns/2009-10-01/inside-china-exploring-supplement-sales-channels/

This was the authorities in China getting on top of the problem; unless a supplement was approved with a “blue hat” label then it is illegal to produce and sell.

This meant that all the back street manufacturers then had to go even more underground.

Why Are They Targeting English Speaking Countries?

UK and USAThe UK and US are a massive market for dietary supplements. It is not possible to get hard and fast amounts for the amount of money that is spent but it is estimated to run into Billions of dollars per year.

As result of this huge spending power, dodgy companies in China and other parts of the Far East are hitting the market hard. With the freedom that the Internet offers people, it is so easy to do this online.

Simply buy a domain, throw some content up and you are literally open for business. You can then use some shady tactics to get rankings in the search engines (like Google) and then the visitors will come.

In most cases there is so little information offered that it is not always possible for the casual surfer to see where the diet pills are coming from.

But What Is Wrong With Chinese Diet Pills?

As shown above, if a diet pill passes the strict regulations for sale in China then it is normally considered safe for consumption. As is also shown though, the ones acting outside the law are the ones who are usually behind the sales in to Western countries.

Because they are not following any regulations, then the Chinese diet pills can contain all manner of substances that have never been tested or approved for consumption.

If you are very lucky, you can get to see a list of the ingredients (supposedly) in the diet pill. In many cases you really don’t know if such ingredients are inside and this is just something to play along with the whole sham. Normally these ingredients have exotic sounding names and are often used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In some cases they may have some positive benefits but in many cases there is no evidence as to their safety or effectiveness.

If you are unlucky, you could be ingesting all manner of dangerous chemicals, with sometimes tragic consequences.

How Dangerous Can They Be?

One of the stories recently in the news was from an 18-year-old girl from Ireland. She purchased a product called Meizitang Soft Gel, which we happened to issue warnings about a while ago.

Amongst the warnings we issued were;

  • Wild weight loss claims
  • Poorly written site
  • No indication of ingredient quantities
  • No proper details for company
  • Fake Testimonials?

We summed things up with:

Meizitang fails on just about every level possible. Suspect unproven ingredients, fake reviews, and no contact details, the list goes on.

We concluded that it was…

One of the worst we have reviewed so far

You can imagine our surprise then when we heard this terrible story. After buying these diet pills the girl was rushed to Hospital in Dublin with acute abdominal pains and bloody diarrhoea. This was five days after taking the drug.

She was diagnosed by the Doctors with Acute Ischaemic Colitis, which is brought on by the swelling of the large intestine. When doctors realised she was in danger of complete Organ failure they did emergency surgery and she had to have her Colon removed.

After an investigation by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) they found the diet pills she took contained a banned substance called Sibutramine. This was present in the diet pills she had bought and was concluded to have caused the terrible condition she sustained.

Source: http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/health-fitness/girl-18-has-colon-removed-after-buying-toningup-pills-for-holidays-online-3266776.html

What Are The Authorities Doing About Chinese Diet Pills?

Because the diet pills are sold and shipped online and sent singly through the post, it is not always possible to track them. Unfortunately some slip though customs and consumers could be putting themselves at risk without knowing it.

The IMB have issued a number of warnings which includes the following details:

  • There is no way of knowing if the product you receive has been tested and approved for human use. What is sent to you may not even be the medicine that was advertised on the website.
  • There is no way of knowing, with any certainty, how or where the product was manufactured. Because of this, there is no way of knowing if the manufacturer operates to acceptable standards of quality and cleanliness.
  • The product may not have been packaged, labelled or stored correctly and could be out?of?date. It might also include incorrect patient information such as the instructions for use.
  • The active ingredient in a product is what makes it work. A product bought online may contain no active ingredient, too much or too little of an active ingredient, or the wrong ingredients altogether. It could simply be useless in treating your medical complaint. At best, it may be a waste of your money. At worst, it could cause you serious harm.
  • Some products purchased online have been found to contain dangerous toxic substances
  • As there is no certainty about the ingredients used to make the product, you can’t be sure if it is safe to use alongside medicines you may already be taking. Unexpected interactions may occur with your regular medicines.

What Products Are Involved In All This?

The IBM has published a list of 38 illegal products that have been found to contain Sibutramine (see below). It has advised any consumers taking these products to immediately stop doing so, and has advised anyone experiencing ill effects after ingesting such products to contact their doctor immediately.

  1. Botanical Slimming 100% Natural Soft Gel (Capsules) also sold as “Meizitang”
  2. Lipro Diet Pills
  3. Li Da Capsules
  4. Li Da Daidaihua
  5. Reduce Weight Fruta Planta Capsules
  6. ZenSlim
  7. Chinashow (Capsules)
  8. Slim body #1 Capsules
  9. Slimforte Slimming Coffee
  10. Slimforte Slimming Capsules
  11. Svelte 30 Capsules
  12. Celerite Slimming Tea
  13. Celerite Slimming Capsules
  14. Fat Burner No. 1 Capsules
  15. Herbal Diet Natural Capsule
  16. Tea Polyphenol Capsules
  17. Ultra Effect Capsules
  18. Slim Magic Herbal Capsules
  19. Slim 3 in 1 Slim Formula
  20. Natural Slim Capsules
  21. 2 Day Diet Capsules
  22. Best Life Fat Burning Capsules
  23. Golden Root Formula
  24. Riomont
  25. Capsule 1
  26. Eight Treasure Emperor Capsule
  27. Paiyouji Plus
  28. Slimex
  29. Leisure 18
  30. Jianfei
  31. Royal Viga
  32. Sibutramine HCI Monohydrate Capsules
  33. Slimming Coffee
  34. Super Slim
  35. Zhen de shou
  36. Sibustat -15
  37. Obestat – 15
  38. Obety -15

Conclusion

As can be seen, it’s simply not worth taking the gamble with your body and your health. Buying cheap diet pills from China or the Far East may seem like a bargain but in the end could you cost you far more!

We would issue a strong warning to be very wary of buying any diet pills from China or the Far East. This goes hand in hand with the warnings from The Irish Medicines Board.

Like to know more about China’s Dietary Supplement industry?, Take a look at Jeff Crowther’s industry update article here.

Disclaimer: Our reviews and investigations are based on extensive research from the information publicly available to us and consumers at the time of first publishing the post. Information is based on our personal opinion and whilst we endeavour to ensure information is up-to-date, manufacturers do from time to time change their products and future research may disagree with our findings. If you feel any of the information is inaccurate, please contact us and we will review the information provided.


Have Your Say

7 comments on 'Dangers Of Chinese Diet Pills'

  1. hi me and my daughter just bought chinese pills from a tanning shop in liverpool uk they are dark green and light green with lida on

  2. Can you tell me if you know anything about “JOU” chinese capsules TIME TO SPA WHY WEIGHT….I bought these while on a cruise in the Spa offered by the Acupuncturist I took them for 2 days but felt quite ill so stopped immediately!
    I was sold 3 jars that guaranteed 10lbs weight loss a month…was informed all natural ingredients…

    Thanks

    Regards

    CK

  3. I see the 2-Day Diet Pills on the list but not the 1-Day Diet Pills on the List yet the company I buy from offers both. I have been taking the 1-Day Diet pills for 2 months now and have lost about 20 lbs. The pills so far have no odd effects. I don’t get jittery or wired. The package has an ingredient list and also lets you know that the pills may make you feel uncomfortable at first and the first 2 days I was a little squeamish. Here’s what the pills do do! I am a binge eater and once I decide I need to eat my brain goes into forward motion and there is no stopping me until I’m sick. When I take the pills that doesn’t happen. I can eat and feel full (for the first time in years) and not feel the urge to continue eating. The only adverse affect I have really noticed is that food I used to crave even coffee doesn’t taste right, it literally is changing how I taste things (this could be a good thing and a bad thing). However I’ve been out of pills for a week and my binge eating is back with a vengeance. As far as what is FDA approved or not, they approve pills that kill us all the time! My suggestion is find another angle because what is or isn’t regulated by the “governments” will never be a reason to sway me.

    1. I have read 2 day diet is not from the same company that produce 1 day diet.when one day diet being popular,two day diet is produced but didn’t get enough success.so they copied one day diet packing.i am not sure tho.btw,i m trying to lose my weight within two months and so i m thinking to use one day diet.isn’t it good?harmful?They said they have no side effect.I am confusing…

  4. I guess I’m lucky..I’ve been on these pills for 8 days and am down 10lbs. The first day I almost had no appetite & I felt completely relaxed. It makes you really thirsty so I drink 15glasses of water a day. I really like that theres only one pill to take before or after breakfast. I eat 1200-1300 calories a day (eggs, steak&tomatoes,chicken salads & fruit)and average 1.2lbs lost each morning. I also finish eating by 4pm, take vitamins every day & Jog in one spot for 45minutes. I’ve herd of fake Meizitang but I lucked out & got the real ones. I bought mine off eBay & read the reviews first. She had lots of returning customers. Ps there are video diaries on YouTube and you can se their results from first to last 🙂

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