Shamed,the shops trading in slimming pills for schoolgirls
The labels on the diet tablets state quite clearly they should not be sold to under-18s – yet they don’t bat an eyelid if a 15-year-old walks in to buy them
SLIMMING pills that have been linked to serious health issues and even death are being openly sold to teenage girls in tanning salons. An investigation by The Scottish Mail on Sunday reveals how easy it is to buy untested and potentially dangerous diet tablets and fat-burning pills.
Despite clear warnings that the products are unsuitable for anyone under 18, our undercover investigator – aged only 15 – was able to buy a selection of slimming aids without any age checks.
Although there has been an explosion in the use of slimming pills in recent years, there is little regulation of what is now a multi-million-pound industry.
Last night, leading Scots psychiatrists warned that ever more children are worrying about their weight – with girls as young as 11 on slimming pills.
To highlight how easy it is for children to buy diet pills, we carried out test purchases in Edinburgh.
Under strict supervision, a 15-yearold schoolgirl – who we are calling Jennifer – visited tanning salons.
In Tan nTone on Earlston Place, she asked for slimming pills and was offered various products, but was told: ‘It doesn’t matter which one you choose. They all do the same thing.’
For £27, Jennifer bought a tub of 60 capsules labelled T5 Super Raspberry K2. The small print describes the product as a ‘workout supplement’ and adds: ‘This product is not recommended for children.’ Advice found online clearly states: ‘This product is not intended d for persons under the age of 18.’
In Top Tan in Broomhall Drive, Jennifer was sold a different T5 product – a tub of 30 ‘extreme fat- burning agent’ capsules for £14. The label says: ‘The sale to persons 18 or younger is prohibited.’
Staff advised her to take the pills in the morning but warned she may experience a ‘tickling sensation’ in the stomach.
The Tan Stand in South Clerkk Street sold Jennifer two tubs of 144 Acti-slim Platinum capsules for £14 4 each. Again, the label says they are e ‘not intended for adolescents’.
Indigo Sun on Lothian Road said it was out of stock but to come back ck another time. At no point wasas Jennifer’s age questioned.
Experts warned that, although it t is not illegal to sell or buy these ese products, some contain ingredients which are potentially dangerous.
Dietician Anna Daniels, founder of Honest Nutrition, said T5 fat-burning pills contain powerful stimulants.
The tablets’ stated ingredients include phenethylamine and bitter orange. Ms Daniels said: ‘Phenethylamine, when taken in excess, has been known to cause side-effects similar to the drug amphetamine.
‘Bitter orange poses health risks. A review of the herb in 2012 found that further studies were needed to assess i its safety.f As iiit is a stimulant,i heart rate is increased, as is blood pressure.’
The second T5 product, Super Raspberry, contains 555mg of caffeine per daily dose – equivalent to seven cans of Red Bull or 11 Pro Plus caffeine pills.
Ms Daniels said: ‘This is an extremely high level of caffeine. Anything that acts as a stimulant can cause irritability, nervousness, excess sweating, increased heart rate, upset stomach, sleeplessness, the shakes and, in the worst case scenario, cardiac arrest.’
High-caffeine T5 products were impli-
cated in the death earlier this year of Chris Wilcock from Lancashire. The 45-year-old suffered a heart attack after he took diet pills for the first time – and tests after his death showed his body had the same caffeine levels as 300 cups of coffee.
His fiancée Heather Thompson said: ‘These pills need to be banned. It just said T5 on the bottle, there was nothing about side effects.’
Experts called for the Government to introduce stricter guidelines surrounding the sale of slimming pills and diet supplements.
Debbie Provan of the British Die- tetic Association said: ‘It’s always a concern when you have teenagers, who are still developing, able to buy these products without any guidance or support. If they do have an age limit, people should be ID’d.
‘The people selling them in tanning salons are unqualified and perhaps not giving a lot of thought to what they’re doing. These products are not regulated, so are more difficult to govern.’
Lorna Garner of eating disorders charity BEAT said: ‘We must do more to halt the availability of dangerous chemicals and protect vul- nerable people from the inappropriate purchase of diet pills.’
Dr Laxmi Kathuria, one of Scotland’s leading child psychiatrists, yesterday warned she is seeing increasing numbers of young girls taking diet pills – mostly brought from unregulated websites.
She has seen children as young as eight with eating disorders – but he youngest patient she has known of taking diet pills is aged 11.
Dr Kathuria said she was ‘not surprised at all’ that 15-year-old girls were able to buy tablets in tanning salons. She added: ‘There is still a part of me that is horrified – why is nobody doing anything about it? We need clear guidelines about what these medications do. I fully support tighter regulations.’
Dr Jane Morris, chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland Faculty of Eating Disorders, said: ‘These diet pills are horrible and extremely dangerous. We should put them among the things we protect under-18s against.’
She also confirmed that the prevalence of eating disorders is increasing in Scotland.
Dr Morris said: ‘In the 70s, when eating disorders really took off, there was no diet pill that would work. Now there are drugs that work – but they are often highly toxic and dangerous. As high-profile cases have shown, they can kill you.
‘It’s terrifying to think that people are prepared to try something so dangerous in an attempt to lose weight.’
Last night, the manager of Tan n Tone claimed he was not aware of any regulations about the sale of slimming pills. He said: ‘It’s the first bottle I’ve ever sold in here. She didn’t look 15 anyway. I request ID from everyone for tanning beds – but not for slimming pills as such.’
The owner of Top Tan said she was not aware that she was doing anything wrong by selling the product. She added: ‘I only gave her one tub. Anybody can buy them on the internet – we make sure that we only buy the labelled pills.’
Agha Mohammad, manager of the Tan Stand which sold the product, said that, as a rule, it would not sell it to anyone underage. He added: ‘We don’t allow sunbeds or slimming pills for anyone under 18. This was a mistake – and the lady who served her will get a written warning for this.’
The manufacturers of T5 and Actislim were unavailable to comment.