Diet pills 'may have killed Thai teen'

[webfact]

Diet pills 'may have killed teen'
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- A 19-year-old 'freshman' girl who died of shock on Sunday may not have died from taking female hormone pills, used to enhance the size of breasts or glutathione pills whiten the skin.

Food and Drug Administration spokesperson Prapon Angtragoon said yesterday that the victim could have died from a concentrated glutathione injection, which will cause broncho-constriction leading to shock.

"The report shows that taking hormone pills for a long time can develop deep vein thrombosis, but the victim was just 19, which was not long enough [taking such pills] to kill her.

Glutathione pills are not absorbed through the digestion process, so they also could not have been the cause," Prapon said.

He suspected that sibutramine in diet pills might have been the leading killer as the victim had aortic stenosis as a congenital disease. Sibutramine could cause broncho-constriction in a person with this disease. Further examination is needed before a conclusion can be made, he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Diet-pills-may-have-killed-teen-30248485.html


-- The Nation 2014-11-25

[chooka]

Sad with this desire to look more like farangs, pill, cream and surgery.

[henrymeier99]

"may have" maybe she have other unrecognized disease.

[doremifasol]

Poor girl, another victim of this brain washed society.

R.I.P

[NongKhaiKid]

It doesn't matter how many warnings are issued so many are seduced by powerful ads with promises of looking like Casper in no time flat and a fortune is spent every year on these products.

I don't know how well the advertising industry is regulated but there are lots of iffy claims made.

[Jeremy50]

You achieve the body you want through diet and hard prolonged exercise, not through pills, slimming clinics, surgery, vibrating chairs, creams, drinks, massage, or even standing outside your house and waving your arms around for five minutes a day before getting back to the telly. It's a pity Thais are so ready to believe all the rubbish foisted upon them. There must be many tragedies like this.

[aussieinthailand]

RIP the girl,

Almost every pharmacy has diet pills, and whitening products for sale, the problem is that 95% of pharmacies don't have a REAL pharmacist in the shop and don't ask the right questions of the customer about health conditions or other medications they are currently taking and just sell them what ever they want.

Also the two of the three governing bodies that are charged with regulating pharmacies are on the take and don't do their job.

And when they do go out to inspect the pharmacies, a phone call is made from the office and 9 out of 10 will close up shop for a day or two then it's business as usual.

CHALLANGE; the next time you walk into a pharmacy ask the person directly ARE YOU A PHARMASIST??? or take a look at the certificate with photo and see if it is the same person in the photo and the person serving you, I'll bet they are not the same person, most pharmacist's sell's their certificate to a wanna be and depending on area they get up to 12,000 baht per month for the paper.

And now the BIB's are trying to get a little of the action also, but that comes as no surprise really.

And yes there really are reliable medicines that will help you loose weight.

Edited November 25, 2014 by aussieinthailand

[SOTIRIOS]

.........God forbid teens err on the side of safety........

....19 years old......nobody seems to know how long she was taking the pills.....

...save the industry at all costs...

[robblok]

Sibutramine is banned in many countries, i have used it in the past it can work however for some people its dangerous. Problem is many people don't care don't read labels and think more is better.

Its one of the few things that works it sends signals to be brain that your full faster So instead of eating 2 plates you will eat one and are not hungry. I used it after reading up on the risks and side effects. Stopped with it as it killed my sleep but i did notice a decrease in appetite. Nothing major but noticeable. Just that some people can't handle it or use it unsafe does not mean it should be banned for everyone.

Just because there are alcoholics does not mean no alcohol should be sold (analogy)

Its sad that she died and probably was not told about the risks and that is the problem. For me its not a good drug but others have lost weight on it. It could help with obesity.

As others have said exercise and eating right are the best things but many dont take into account that bodies vary, we all know the guy that can eat all he wants and never get fat and the guy that looks at a plate of food and gains weight. Don't judge people to harshly what is easy for one is hard for an other.

Though the majority of people can loose weight without help of pills but they can aid or kickstart the process, obesity kills too. It can cause diabetes.

Guess we will get loads of comment in this topic of people who don't have any idea about what this drug was and does.

[toybits]

The OP clearly does not understand those medical terms nor bothered to find out what they meant to make people understand what happened. Another fine example of journalism. Too bad soo many Thais are not happy with their own bodies and have to do drastic measures to meet their objectives. They are vulnerable to peer pressure and have unrealistic ambitions about what they should look like. There is something seriously wrong with this modern society.

Edited November 25, 2014 by toybits

[cup-O-coffee]

This is a whole lot of hypothesis and assumption before any conclusions are made. I feel that this could have been worded better so as not to incriminate or incite suspicion and blame, or even comments about the deceased girl.

Fact is, no one knows what caused her death right now, so I will refrain from commenting on this poorly written, poorly timed, and in poor taste article.

RIP to the girl.

[Sviss Geez]

RIP the girl,

Almost every pharmacy has diet pills, and whitening products for sale, the problem is that 95% of pharmacies don't have a REAL pharmacist in the shop and don't ask the right questions of the customer about health conditions or other medications they are currently taking and just sell them what ever they want.

Also the two of the three governing bodies that are charged with regulating pharmacies are on the take and don't do their job.

And when they do go out to inspect the pharmacies, a phone call is made from the office and 9 out of 10 will close up shop for a day or two then it's business as usual.

CHALLANGE; the next time you walk into a pharmacy ask the person directly ARE YOU A PHARMASIST??? or take a look at the certificate with photo and see if it is the same person in the photo and the person serving you, I'll bet they are not the same person, most pharmacist's sell's their certificate to a wanna be and depending on area they get up to 12,000 baht per month for the paper.

And now the BIB's are trying to get a little of the action also, but that comes as no surprise really.

And yes there really are reliable medicines that will help you loose weight.

"CHALLANGE; the next time you walk into a pharmacy ask the person directly ARE YOU A PHARMASIST???"

You seem to be suggesting that pharmacies will always try to misrepresent their staff as qualified pharmacists. You are very wrong.

I did exactly what you suggest (but without shouting "ARE YOU A PHARMASIST???") several weeks ago on a Sunday evening when I needed advice about some high dosage prescription painkillers for a back problem. I asked at every pharmacy from the one in Foodland Soi 5, the 3 others in that soi and two others on both sides of Sukhumvit and in every one I was told there was no pharmacist available at that time. Not one tried to claim that there was a qualified person on duty. Boots in Times Square did have one.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Sviss Geez

[maidee]

diet pills = speed

should stop when you start pissing blood = near kidney failure

glutathione is to detoxy the body / liver, so what doses did she take ? a whole bottle per day ?

[Krataiboy]

May NOT have died from whitening pills? If there is any question of whitening substances being potentially lethal, why the hell is the stuff being sold to any young girl who wants it?

If a crackdown is needed it is against the sale of dangerous cosmetics, available as freely as knom, from pharmacists who are often unqualified and unscrupulous when it comes to what they dispense.

Thai mothers need educating in the dangers of drugs used for slimming, whitening and cosmetic surgery. As it is they blithely encourage their daughters to take the same silly risks with their health that they do - and reap the same awful consequences.

And for what? In the hope of one day morphing into the kind of anorexic child-woman so beloved of the fashion magazines owned by men but for the most part managed and produced by women.

This poor girl's death should be a wake up call to all women and to a predominantly male government that a public awareness-raising campaign is urgently needed to help Thai women understand that it is not what you look like which is most important, but what you are.

Yes, I know - and the moon is made of green cheese.

[Sviss Geez]

This is a whole lot of hypothesis and assumption before any conclusions are made. I feel that this could have been worded better so as not to incriminate or incite suspicion and blame, or even comments about the deceased girl.

Fact is, no one knows what caused her death right now, so I will refrain from commenting on this poorly written, poorly timed, and in poor taste article.

RIP to the girl.

You refrain from commenting about the OP by commenting that it was poorly written, poorly timed and in poor taste.

The OP is not poorly written, it is a translation from a Thai language report. It is not poorly timed, it is relevant to the death of the girl that is being commented on. It is not in poor taste either, it is simply a report of the possible circumstances of the girl's death.

[wabothai]

Pre occupation with being beautiful has nasty results.

[aussieinthailand]

RIP the girl,

Almost every pharmacy has diet pills, and whitening products for sale, the problem is that 95% of pharmacies don't have a REAL pharmacist in the shop and don't ask the right questions of the customer about health conditions or other medications they are currently taking and just sell them what ever they want.

Also the two of the three governing bodies that are charged with regulating pharmacies are on the take and don't do their job.

And when they do go out to inspect the pharmacies, a phone call is made from the office and 9 out of 10 will close up shop for a day or two then it's business as usual.

CHALLANGE; the next time you walk into a pharmacy ask the person directly ARE YOU A PHARMASIST??? or take a look at the certificate with photo and see if it is the same person in the photo and the person serving you, I'll bet they are not the same person, most pharmacist's sell's their certificate to a wanna be and depending on area they get up to 12,000 baht per month for the paper.

And now the BIB's are trying to get a little of the action also, but that comes as no surprise really.

And yes there really are reliable medicines that will help you loose weight.

"CHALLANGE; the next time you walk into a pharmacy ask the person directly ARE YOU A PHARMASIST???"

You seem to be suggesting that pharmacies will always try to misrepresent their staff as qualified pharmacists. You are very wrong.

I did exactly what you suggest (but without shouting "ARE YOU A PHARMASIST???") several weeks ago on a Sunday evening when I needed advice about some high dosage prescription painkillers for a back problem. I asked at every pharmacy from the one in Foodland Soi 5, the 3 others in that soi and two others on both sides of Sukhumvit and in every one I was told there was no pharmacist available at that time. Not one tried to claim that there was a qualified person on duty. Boots in Times Square did have one.

Time to enlighten you a little my good friend, as "you are very wrong".

Firstly I did not suggest " pharmacies will always try to misrepresent their staff as qualified pharmacist's" what I did say was 95% of pharmacies don't have a real pharmacist, what you will also find is many pharmacist's have multiple pharmacies as it can be a good business, but paying the pharmacist's salary is a large cost so often the staff are not qualified, and a normal salary is paid to staff.

secondly I didn't say( shout ARE YOU A PHARMASIST", ) I said ask the person directly are you.........?

Thirdly, do you happen to know any pharmacists on a personal level? if so then ask them just what really happens in the industry as they are in the business so it would stand to reason that they would have a greater knowledge on the subject don't you think?

And yes I know several.

You will also find many are not registed, and also if you could get the number of pharmacies in Thailand and then the number of qualified pharmacists you will see the what I am suggesting is in fact quite correct.

I wonder, you claim you went into several pharmacies and they said there was no pharmacist on duty at that time, don't you think that odd?

I'll tell you why the next time ok.

lastly I think you are smart to have asked first that very question of qualification before.

Cheers

[robblok]

diet pills = speed

should stop when you start pissing blood = near kidney failure

glutathione is to detoxy the body / liver, so what doses did she take ? a whole bottle per day ?

Here the diet pill was sibutramine not speed according to the OP.

Just read the article it will help.

Anyway loads of speculation.

[abitmiffed]

It doesn't matter how many warnings are issued so many are seduced by powerful ads with promises of looking like Casper in no time flat and a fortune is spent every year on these products.

I don't know how well the advertising industry is regulated but there are lots of iffy claims made.

Well going by your statement it would appear to have done what ot says on the tin

For once an ad that is not a lie.