March 20 , 2007
"Diet Pill Dangers"
People today are looking for quick fixes for everything – including the extra fat they carry around. Unfortunately, these quick fixes often do much more harm than good.
“People think they can get quick results. They think that pills can fix anything, and it doesn’t work that way with a diet,” said nutrition counselor at the Bowling Green State University Wellness Connection, Jane Crandall.
There are dozens of diet pills on most drug store shelves, each of them making many claims and promises that seem – and actually are – too good to be true.
No FDA Oversight
These pills are not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
“If it’s an over-the-counter medication, it will be FDA regulated. If it’s over-the-counter herbal, it’s not regulated,” said director and physician in chief at the Bowling Green State University Health Center, Glenn Egelman.
As shown by diet pills containing ephedrine, these pills can have devastating side effects, including stroke and death. The hundreds of lawsuits filed against these pill manufacturers and distributors have led to the ban on ephedrine-containing supplements, but other dangerous drugs remain on shelves.
It has also led to long warnings that can help pill makers escape liability when they face lawsuits stemming from their pills’ side effects. Some labels have warnings hundreds of words long and essentially tell you not to take the pills unless you are perfectly healthy and have no history of any illness whatsoever in your family.
Long-Term Effects not Known
Another danger of these diet pills is that since most of them are new, no one knows their long-term effects.
“Only time will tell. Any time you’re taking any drug there are potential side effects. Sometimes we know about them, and sometimes they show up later,” said Egelman.
In the case of ephedrine, we found out when teenagers started to have strokes and studies linked the substance with seizures, death, psychosis, and many other serious conditions.
Harmed by ephedrine? Please contact us today for a complimentary consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney who can answer your questions, examine the circumstances surrounding your case, and help you recover the compensation you may be entitled to.
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