The Food and Drug Administration expanded its list of tainted weight loss products that consumers should avoid buying.

 

In December, the agency warned about more than 25 weight loss products that contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that may pose risks to people’s health.

 

The list now includes 72 illegal weight loss products that the FDA considers risky, as they contain active pharmaceutical ingredients that are not declared on their label. These ingredients are as follows: fenproporex (a controlled substance not approved for marketing in the US); fluoxetine (an antidepressant available by prescription only); bumetanide (a potent diuretic available by prscription only); Furosemide (a potent diuretic available by prescription only); rimonabant (a drug not approved for marketing in the US); cetilistat (an experimental obesity drug not approved for marketing in the US); phenytoin (an antiseizure medication available by prescription only); phenolphthalein (a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent that is not approved for marketing in the US).

 

These ingredients have as side effects high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), palpitations, heart attack and stroke.

 

The list of weight loss products released by the FDA contain the following names: 2 Day Diet; 2 Day Diet Slim Advance; 2x Powerful Slimming; 3 Day Diet; 3 Days Fit; 3x Slimming Power; 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming; 7 Day Herbal Slim; 7 Days Diet; 7 Diet; 7 Diet Day/Night Formula; 8 Factor Diet; Eight Factor Diet; 21 Double Slim; 24 Hours Diet; 999 Fitness Essence; BioEmagrecim; Body Creator; Body Shaping; Body Slimming; Cosmo Slim; Extrim Plus; Extrim Plus 24 Hour Reburn; Fasting Diet; Fatloss Slimming; GMP; Herbal Xenicol; Imelda Fat Reducer; Imelda Perfect Slim; JM Fat Reducer; Lida DaiDaihua; Meili; Meizitang; Miaozi; MeiMiaoQianZiJiaoNang; Miaozi Slim Capsules; Natural Model; Perfect Slim; Perfect Slim 5x; Perfect Slim Up; Phyto Shape; Powerful Slim; ProSlim Plus; Reduce Weight; Royal Slimming Formula; Sana Plus; Slim 3 in 1; Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Formula; Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Waist Formula; Slim 3 in 1 M18 Royal Diet; Slim 3 in 1 Slim Formula; Slim Burn; Slim Express 4 in 1; Slim Express 360; Slim Fast (This product isn't related to the Slim-Fast line of meal replacement and related products.); Slim Tech; Slim Up; Slim Waist Formula; Slim Waistline; Slimbionic; Sliminate’; Slimming Formula; Somotrim; Starcaps; Super Fat Burner; Superslim; Super Slimming; Trim 2 Plus; Triple Slim; Venom Hyperdrive 3.0; Waist Strength Formula; Xsvelten; Zhen de Shou.

 

Many of the products are marketed as “dietary supplements,” claiming to be natural or contain only herbal ingredients. They are generally sold on Web sites and in some retail stores and beauty salons.

 

“Consumers have no way of knowing that these products contain dangerous drugs that could cause serious consequences to their health,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release.