Young Irishman dies after taking diet pills he bought online

According to the Health Products Regulatory Authority in May a man in his mid-20s died after taking fat burning pills that contained a highly toxic substance which has been marketed as a “wonder slimming aid”.

Warnings have previously been made by the authority that consuming the diet pills which contained Dinitrophenol (DNP) are suspected to have led to the young man’s death.

Pat O’Mahony, Chief Executive of the HPRA has said that he strongly urges members of the public "to never use the internet to source slimming products or any prescription medicines at any time.”

DNP is a chemical which is popularly used by bodybuilders in order to lose fat fast in the run up to competitions. It accelerates your metabolism to dangerous levels and can have serious short and long term effects: including cataracts from long-term use.

While this is the first time in Ireland there has been a reported death as a result of taking DNP, it is linked to over 60 death around the world.

This year the HPRA have seized almost 100 diet pills containing DNP and are advising people not to buy slimming products online.

Interpol, the international police agency, put out an alert in almost 200 countries to warn them about the dangers of DNP, which has even been found in explosives.

DNP was previously linked to the death of a young woman in the UK who bought diet pills online in an effort to lose weight.

Eloise Parry died of heart in April of this year failure following an overdose of diet pills she bought online.

Following her death warning have come from the HPRA about websites claiming they are selling products to help people who want to shed some weight.

“Bogus websites can be very sophisticated and appear to be legitimate,” says Pat O’Mahony, and urges people to be wary when buying online.