Can you lose weight by drinking coffee？ ＂online celebrity diet pills＂ turned out to be ＂banned drugs＂

　　Ms. Zhu, a citizen of Huai ‘an, Jiangsu Province, bought a "online celebrity Diet Pill" online and took three packs a day as required. Unexpectedly, after two days, she felt weak, dizzy, flustered and vomited, but she didn’t lose any weight. After testing by authoritative departments, the diet pills contain prohibited ingredients such as sibutramine.

　　In recent years, various kinds of "special weight-loss drugs" illegally added sibutramine have emerged one after another, and related cases have occurred in many places. Why did this "banned drug", whose production, sale and use were explicitly stopped in 2010, stop, and even become a "online celebrity diet drug"?

　　The so-called "lazy people lose weight"

　　In fact, it is a "banned drug" effect.

　　The "online celebrity Diet Medicine" purchased by Ms. Zhu is called "L-carnitine Coffee King". On the internet, "you can lose weight by drinking coffee" is the sales gimmick of this fake medicine. Under the banner of "lazy people lose weight", the drug quickly became popular. Tortured by "online celebrity diet pills", Ms. Zhu angrily sent the diet pills to the local food and drug supervision and administration department for testing. The results showed that sibutramine and other prohibited ingredients were illegally added to this diet pill, which was a fake and inferior product.

　　Huai’ an Food and Drug Administration then handed over the clue to Huai’ an public security department. Huai’ an police recently smashed the underground industrial chain for the production and sale of fake diet pills, seized about 8 tons of fake diet pills on the spot, and verified that about 10 tons had been sold.

　　Sibutramine was originally used to treat obesity, but it was banned in many countries in the world because of its great side effects and increased risk of heart disease. In 2010, China also explicitly stopped producing, selling and using sibutramine preparations and raw materials.

　　Zack Zhang, nutritionist in charge of nutrition department of Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, said that sibutramine can reduce weight mainly by suppressing appetite and enhancing metabolism, but it will cause many problems such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, and even lead to stroke in severe cases, which is very harmful to the body.

　　Similar cases of fake diet pills occur from time to time in various places. A case of fake diet pills recently uncovered by police in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, is also the illegal addition of sibutramine. Last year, the "Shu Liqing" extra-large fake diet drug case cracked by the police in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, still contained sibutramine.

　　The reporter searched for the keyword "sibutramine" on China Judgment Document Network and found that since this year, there have been about 20 related cases with tried judgments published on this website, and more than 70 such cases were published last year.

　　Low cost and quick effect,

　　Some profits exceed 150%

　　Why do fake diet pills like to add sibutramine? "Low cost and quick results." Zack Zhang said. The case cracked by Huai’ an police also confirmed this statement.

　　According to the criminal suspect Xu, the dosage of sibutramine added to the diet pills produced by the factory is dynamically calculated according to factors such as cost, market demand and physical reaction of consumers, and the maximum amount added per ton is no more than 4 kg. Based on this calculation, 35 kilograms of sibutramine can be processed into about 9 tons of diet pills. A can of diet pills is about 300 grams, and the total price of each can is nearly 390,000 yuan, calculated by the lowest price in 13 yuan. However, Xu bought 35 kilograms of sibutramine for only 66,500 yuan, and other auxiliary materials and packaging costs were also very low, which made great profits.

　　In the sales process, the huge profits of these diet pills are even more amazing. According to the police investigating the case, the purchase price of an online shop owner is 18 yuan per can, and the marked selling price is as high as 69 yuan per can. Even if you engage in activities, buy two and get one free, the actual price per can is as high as 46 yuan, and the profit rate is 156%.

　　After layers of tracing, Huai ‘an police found that the "L-carnitine Coffee King" purchased by Ms. Zhu was produced in a food processing factory in Xiayi County, Henan Province. During the day, the factory is a regular food processing factory, and the daily food is also produced on the production line. At night, doors and windows are closed, curtains are pulled up, and fake diet pills are secretly produced.

　　The reporter searched online and entered the word "sibutramine", and found that the first hot search was "Where can I buy sibutramine now?" The reporter contacted a number of online suppliers as buyers, and they all said that sibutramine produced in China was difficult to obtain, but it was imported from abroad, and the supply was more authentic and stable, but the price per kilogram rose from the previous 1,000 yuan to more than 6,000 yuan.

　　Online sales of farm yard production

　　Bypass supervision throughout the process

　　"People who come to me to take medicine know in their hearts that the state does not allow them to sell." A raw material supplier with the signature of "losing 8 to 20 pounds a month" on WeChat told reporters that the drug cannot be sold to sensitive people such as heart disease, hypertension and pregnant women, and the dosage addition should be strictly controlled. However, he not only sells raw materials and formulas, but also sells finished capsules. Currently, there are nearly 20 offline suppliers in Wechat business.

　　The reporter’s investigation found that the sales routines of fake diet pills are mainly: they usually have a fashionable and puzzling drug name, such as "L-carnitine coffee king" and "Brazilian fruit and vegetable body-shaping and tabletting candy", which sounds very "scientific and technological". Then, one-on-one private distribution, retail and payment through online social software. Finally, send it by express mail. The whole process bypassed the regulatory links such as industry and commerce, food and drug supervision.

　　The case of "Shu Liqing" extra-large fake diet pills handled by Suzhou police before is particularly typical. From raw materials to auxiliary materials, from capsule shell to outer packaging, from anti-counterfeiting labels to filling machines, the suspects are all handled online, and then they hide in a remote farmhouse in Fengxian County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province for production, and then they are distributed through the Internet and express delivery.

　　Expert reminder

　　Don’t be superstitious about losing weight quickly

　　The police said that judging from the cases handled in recent years, it is difficult for traditional supervision methods to intercept and prevent such fake and inferior products. In addition, the police handling cases often have to go to more than ten provinces across the country to collect evidence and arrest, and the cost of law enforcement is very high. It is far from enough to rely solely on the police to crack down afterwards.

　　In view of the phenomenon that many "online celebrity diet pills" arbitrarily add sibutramine and other prohibited ingredients, the insiders believe that this requires both the police to crack down severely and the market and drug regulatory authorities to change the traditional regulatory methods and speed up the construction of an online regulatory system. In addition, the relevant e-commerce companies should bear their due social responsibilities and prevent the state from prohibiting drugs and counterfeit and shoddy products from circulating on the platform. If serious social consequences are caused, they should also be held accountable.

　　Experts remind consumers not to be superstitious about losing weight quickly. Weight loss should be done step by step. First, conventional basic treatment should be considered, such as losing weight through reasonable diet and moderate exercise. When the effect of basic treatment is not good, special medical food can be considered for meal replacement. Consumers are advised to consult a qualified regular hospital and make a scientific and reasonable weight loss plan.

　　According to Xinhua News Agency