In 2006, Health Canada warned consumers not to use two unapproved “all natural” diet pills, including the Brazilian diet pill, that were being marketed as all natural health diet pills for weight loss. According to Health Canada these diet pills may contain substances that could lead to serious side effects or injury or addiction!
A catalyst for the Canadian announcement was a similar announcement made in the US. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that Emagrece Sim, also known as the Brazilian Diet Pill, and Herbathin, contain the prescription-only pharmaceutical compound fluoxetine HCl (the active ingredient in Prozac), the controlled substance chlordiazepoxide HCl (an active ingredient in Librax) and the controlled substance fenproporex. It should be noted that neither of these “all natural” diet pills, Emagrece Sim (the Brazilian Diet Pill) and Herbathin , were authorized for sale in Canada at the time of the announcement.
Consumers who were taking these “all natural” diet pills were advised to continue taking them and consult with their physicians immediately, as medical supervision is required for discontinuing chlordiazepoxide HCl, fluoxetine HCl, and fenproporex. Abrupt withdrawal of these diet pills could lead to serious physical and psychological symptoms, such as fatigue, agitation, accelerated heart beat, anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts. How scary is that?
It is infuriating that innocent people could be subjected to the dangers of the Brazilian diet pill when they thought they were taking an “all natural” and safe diet pill.
Consumers who were taking these diet pills were also urged to be cautious since their mental alertness and physical co-ordination may be impaired. Their ability to perform certain tasks such as driving or operating machinery could be affected by the consumption of the Brazilian diet pill. Since these diet pills contain active drug ingredients, both diet pills could cause serious interactions with other drugs or other all natural health products.
Emagrece Sim (the Brazilian Diet Pill) and Herbathin are made in Brazil by Fitoterapicos and Phytotherm Sim. Although these products were not authorized for sale, they have been imported and distributed in the U.S. by Emagrece Sim Laboratories Inc. and Herbathin Inc. (doing business as EMIEX Corp.). Health Canada warned that should they become aware of these diet pills being sold in Canada, appropriate action will be taken to ensure their immediate removal from the market. Also, I am sure that Health Canada would do what they could to destroy any of these diet pills that they found.
Health Canada also warned that consumers should exercise caution when purchasing diet pills from outside Canada or from the Internet as those products may not have undergone the same degree of assessment as those authorized for sale in Canada. It’s always important to have a frank discussion with your pharmacist or doctor before taking diet pills.
Thankfully, at the time of the Health Canada announcement on the Brazilian diet pill, no adverse reactions from the use of these diet pills had been reported in Canada. I don’t know whether any adverse reactions to the Brazilian diet pill has been reported since 2006.
I hope you have found this article to be helpful. Please check back regularly as we always try to keep our information about diet pills up to date.