FDA Cracks Down On Tainted Weight Loss Pills

White Oak, Md. (WUSA)-- Michael Levy is the FDA's Director of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance. He says the agency is warning people not to buy or use 72 weight loss products that contain illegal ingredients that you'll never see listed on the bottle.

For example, testing at FDA labs uncovered a drug called sibutramine. It is the active ingredient in the prescription diet drug Meridia. But in some of the pills purchased by undercover agents, sibutramine was found at four times the approved prescription dose. That, says Levy, could cause side effects, including seizures and spikes in blood pressure.

Levy says, "The danger is real and immediate if you start taking these products."

Levy says many of the tainted weight loss products have Chinese lettering on the packaging, and are sold in ethnic markets, health food stores and beauty salons. Some also claim to be "all-natural" or contain only "herbal" ingredients.

Dr. Arthur Frank, of George Washington University's Weight Management Program, says such claims on unapproved diet products simply can't be trusted.

Dr. Frank says, "We don't know what's in the pill, we don't know whether it is pure or potent. We don't know what the dose should be... Why would you take something like this?"