Weight removed: Drug supplements are being removed from sale after an investigation by Izvestia

Rospotrebnadzor demanded that four weight loss products be withdrawn from sale, which revealed the potent substance sibutramine in concentrations dangerous to health. The agency sent a corresponding letter to the Association of Online Commerce Companies. The presence of sibutramine in capsules of Supressa Fast Metabolism, Ultra Lipo 3 and Mineral Balance, as well as in S Figura Slim coffee, was proved by laboratory studies conducted as part of the Izvestia investigation. The State Duma called on the Ministry of Health to systematize statistics on visits to doctors after taking dangerous weight loss products. Trading platforms are already blocking cards with such drugs, and sellers themselves are changing the names of stores to hide the fact that they are related to dietary supplements with sibutramine.

Remove from sale

On August 11, Rospotrebnadzor demanded that measures be taken to stop the remote sale of four weight loss products in which sibutramine was found after the control purchase of Izvestia. We are talking about capsules of Supressa Fast Metabolism, Ultra Lipo 3 and Mineral Balance, as well as coffee S Figura Slim. The Agency sent a corresponding letter to the Association of Internet Commerce Companies (AKIT).

"In order to prevent potentially unsafe products from being in circulation, all AKIT members are informed of the need to take comprehensive measures to prevent the remote sale of food products of the sports nutrition category, with the purpose of "weight loss": capsules of Supressa Fast Metabolism, capsules of Ultra Lipo 3, capsules of Mineral Balance and coffee S Figura Slim," — the association reported after that.

Rospotrebnadzor also reported that all these drugs "are missing from the Unified Register of Certificates of State Registration of EAEU products" and began checking on the facts of their sale. Earlier, Izvestia handed over to the agency the protocols of the conducted studies proving the presence of a dangerous substance in unregistered goods.

Appeal to the Ministry of Health

The State Duma also reacted to the Izvestia investigation. Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Boris Chernyshov appealed to the Minister of Health with an initiative to conduct a systematic analysis of cases of requests for medical help after using weight loss products over the past five years.

The deputy suggested paying special attention to minors: to establish the number of poisonings and hospitalizations, the consequences for the health of patients, and to find out whether sibutramine and other undeclared pharmacologically active substances were found in the drugs they took.

—We have already sent a request to the Ministry of Health with a proposal to conduct a systematic analysis of such cases over the past five years, since this is obviously not an isolated case," Boris Chernyshov told Izvestia. — It is necessary to get an expert assessment from the Ministry of Health: what are the risks of using such drugs, and whether additional regulatory measures are needed? After the agency's response, we will discuss possible legislative solutions.

He also suggested establishing how many potentially dangerous funds were purchased through marketplaces. The data obtained, in his opinion, will make it possible to assess the need for special requirements for the turnover of weight loss drugs and additional measures to protect children.

Gennady Onishchenko, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and former Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation, also advocated strengthening control over the dietary supplements market.

What was established by Izvestia

The reason for the reaction of the regulator and parliamentarians was the investigation of Izvestia, published on August 11. The editorial staff conducted a control purchase of four popular weight loss products.

The samples were transferred to two independent laboratories for research. In all four products, experts recorded the presence of sibutramine, although it was absent from the composition indicated on the package. 28.5 mg of sibutramine per capsule was found in Supressa Fast Metabolism, about 37 mg in Ultra Lipo 3, and 25.3 mg in Mineral Balance.

For comparison, medicines registered in Russia with sibutramine use significantly lower dosages — 10-15 mg is the maximum allowable dose, and such drugs themselves should be used only under the supervision of a doctor and according to his prescription. Sibutramine is included in the list of potent substances approved by the Government.

Experts explained that the situation is particularly dangerous when the buyer does not know about the presence of sibutramine in the capsule at all. A person purchases a product as a dietary supplement or weight loss product and cannot take into account contraindications and dosage.

At the same time, such products are particularly popular among teenagers, and young buyers are actively discussing these supplements on social networks as a way to quickly lose weight. The mother of one of the injured teenagers told Izvestia that her 15-year-old daughter eventually needed psychiatric help and expensive medication with anti-schizophrenia drugs after taking Supressa Fast Metabolism.

Sellers from Kazakhstan cover their tracks

Izvestia also studied the origin of the products. It was positioned as American or European. However, it turned out that the declared manufacturers either do not exist at all, or they produce completely different products.

The sellers' tracks led to Kazakhstan. Izvestia found several entrepreneurs involved in the sale of such products and registered in the same locality. Experts interviewed by the editorial board suggested that we could be talking about the supply of industrial sibutramine from China and the subsequent artisanal production of capsules already in Kazakhstan.

On August 11, popular trading platforms began blocking the cards of these dietary supplements. As Izvestia found out, the seller from whom the publication purchased the drugs changed the name of the store from "IP Avantgarde" to "IP MB_Shop". At the same time, the old BIN remained in the output data on the site, for which the company was registered in Kazakhstan by its original name.

IP Avantgarde was established on December 26, 2025 in Kazakhstan, the founder is a certain Hamit Zhanabai. The sole proprietor is registered in the village of Merke in the Zhambyl region of the republic, in the same place as at least two other stores that also sold dietary supplements with sibutramine.

— The coincidence of the registration addresses of several sellers within one small settlement is a sign of the mass registration of business entities for nominal persons. To open a merchant's account on the marketplace, a valid BIN and a bank account are sufficient. As a result, the actual sales organizer receives several formally independent accounts," Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative and chairman of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, previously noted in an interview with Izvestia.

The data obtained by Izvestia suggests the mass organization of trade in drugs with sibutramine by Kazakhstani entrepreneurs with delivery to the Russian Federation: in total, as the publication estimates, sellers at various sites could sell up to half a billion packages with dangerous additives. This can mean the annual revenue of trade beneficiaries in the hundreds of millions of rubles per year.