Dangerous weight-loss product sold in Denmark.
A slimming coffee that could give serious side effects because it contains the active substance sibutramine has been sold from a Danish website, which has now been closed.
We warn Danish consumers against using the product due to the risk of side effects.
Sibutramine concealed in coffee powder
The Danish Medicines Agency has analysed the product Green Coffee 800 - a slimming coffee in small sachets. We found Green Coffee 800 to contain the weight-loss medicine sibutramine. The active substance is not declared on the product, and consumers have therefore no way of finding out that they are in fact buying and potentially taking a dangerous drug.
Risk of serious side effects
The adverse reactions from sibutramine could turn out to be serious and may show as a faster heart rate, hypertension, hot flush, constipation, nausea, trouble sleeping, headache, anxiety, perspiration and taste perversion. Sibutramine affects the signals in the brain, suppressing appetite.
All medicines containing sibutramine were withdrawn from the market in autumn 2010 due to the increased risk of serious cardiovascular adverse reactions and brain haemorrhages.
Sold on the internet
Green Coffee has been sold on the internet from a Danish website. The product was presented as being a "drug-free" food supplement and as an effective weight-loss product containing Chinese herbs said to reduce appetite and speed up metabolism.
In 2011, a consumer informed the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration about the products on the website, and the company was subsequently inspected by the Administration. This meant that the website was closed in December 2011.
If you have taken Green Coffee 800, the Danish Medicines Agency advises you to stop taking the product and to contact your doctor if you are concerned. You can hand in any remaining medicine of this illegal product to a pharmacy for destruction.
We generally urge persons who buy medicine on the internet to be careful and to seek advice from their doctor before buying any medicines.
The dangerous active substance is concealed in a line of other weight-loss products: Illegal sibutramine-containing products
