Lab testing has found that an illegally traded weight loss drug contains the drug ecstasy, the Health Ministry said on Sunday and warned against consuming the pills.
The ministry also revealed in a statement that the “zero fat” pills contained traces of the active substance sibutramine, which is banned from sale due to its “cardiac side effects and psychotic side effects.”
“The Health Ministry calls on the public to purchase medicines, including weight loss pills only in pharmacies and pharma chains, and to refrain from buying the pills through unrecognized and unsupervised social networks and websites,” the statement read.
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a mind-altering substance commonly used as a party and recreation drug, which can cause high blood pressure and seizures, and affect the body’s ability to regulate its temperature.
Sibutramine was a widely sold obesity drug until 2010, when regulators around the world determined the ingredient posed a risk to health.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
