Fake Alli Pills Putting Dieters in Danger
Since Alli became licensed for over-the-counter sale, many dieters have been turning to it to give their weight loss efforts a boost.
But now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned about counterfeit products on the market.
The counterfeit pills have been tested and shown to contain potentially harmful levels of sibutramine -- a drug that should only be available by prescription.
If you have an existing heart condition, sibutramine can put you at greater risk of higher blood pressure, heart attack or stroke, and a large number of dieters are trying to lose weight in order to help protect their heart.
The key ingredient in Alli, orlistat, is actually missing from the fake pills. Real Alli is produced by UK drug manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline, who say that consumers should be suspicious if they find:
- LOT code information is missing from the top of the box.
- The expiration date includes month, day and year (example: 06162010), instead of only the month and year (example: 05/12).
Other key differences are:
- The seal on the bottle should read "SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION" in white ink on the real Alli bottle; this statement is not present on the fake product.
- The counterfeit capsule is slightly larger, and its contents powdery; the genuine capsule is shaped more like a pellet.
Always buy medicine from a reputable supplier, like your local drugstore. "Online auction sites" (probably ebay) have been blamed for the circulation of fake drugs.
Source:
Fake Alli Diet Pills Can Pose Health Risks - CNN
Yep, it's never a great idea to buy drugs online sight-unseen. Although, I don't really get why people WOULD buy this stuff online because you can readily just buy it at Walmart. I'm pretty sure that Walmart probably sells the legit pills for as cheap as you can get them just about anywhere.
ReplyI'm never sure why people would risk it either. I wonder if it could be an embarrassment factor for some (ie not wanting to buy weight loss pills in public ... especially if it's they've tried and failed to lose weight before).
ReplyJust great, first they eliminate normal healthy food and try to stuff us full of aspartame and high fructose corn syrup then when people get fat and unhealthy they develop a pill for it which turns out to be poisonous. Just beautiful. You also notice that they adulterated pill that could kill people has twice as much of the active ingredient as the normal pill, what if someone took two of the FDA approved pill, would they be at risk of dying? Talk about a narrow therapeutic index.
ReplyI buy them online because I have got a really good discount like up to $30 cheaper..
ReplyI think people would mostly buy online because they're so much cheaper. But, I agree with you, Ali, for some it may also be the embarrassment factor.
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