The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) will be issuing a new herbal regulation at the end of the month. All herbal pills, products and supplements must be authorized for marketing before they are sold in Europe. Now customers can purchase herbal diet pills and supplements safe in the knowledge that they are approved and deemed safe to consume.
It is difficult for pharmaceutical companies to win the approval of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and European Medicines Agency for weight loss medications and while they are sent away to assess data and reports that take years to wade through in order to prove their creation as safe and efficacious, hundreds of dodgy diet pills, slimming pills and herbal devices that have not been approved for marketing are being sold like hotcakes in health shops and on the internet.
Sometimes it takes a complaint or two to raise the suspicions of the regulators and other times the products are tested at random. Often the regulators find that the “herbal” slimming pills have traces of drugs that are labelled prescription drugs and that are not fit for consumption without a full medical consultation and prescription. These traces and sometimes key ingredients can be highly dangerous when taken with other medications resulting in health complications such as cardiovascular illness and even death.
It is high time that the MHRA took control over this booming market and separated the supplements from the illegal substances that are putting lives at risk. Worryingly, an increasing number of such devices are being purchased since Reductil was voluntarily taken off the market by Abbott pharmaceuticals this year. It is more important than ever to make the existing market a safe one for frustrated customers who are desperate to find a successful weight loss treatment.