Frenzied bidding for diet pills

Desperate housewives are frantically stocking up on diet pills laced with the about-to-be-banned party-pill drug BZP, engaging in online bidding wars for bulk deals and even buying half-used bottles.

Yesterday one woman on auction site Zillion had bid $285 for six bottles of Slimfast Triple Action Formula, which becomes an illegal drug on Tuesday because of the 60mg of BZP in each pill. Other auctions for varying amounts of the pills were also under way.

One full bottle and one half-used bottle went for $120 during the week, after two women placed eight bids in the final two minutes. A full bottle, containing 30 pills, used to retail for about $40.

Some forward- thinking women had earlier turned to the strange sisterhood of the TradeMe message boards wanting to know where to buy the pills, prompting a few kind-hearted souls to post the dregs of their bottles for free.

The manufacturers, Creative Energy Natural Health, say they stopped making the pills about a year ago. Many pharmacies had already pulled them from shelves because of concerns over the BZP, but some - particularly online stores - continued to stock them.

Women taking the pills rave about their sudden lift in mood and energy and more importantly, their plummeting weight. One blogger describes it as "a lovely pill stuffed with BZP".

"Not only does it suppress appetite, but it gives one loads of energy. I doubt I'd ever get out of bed without it."

On Tuesday BZP becomes a Class C illegal drug but dieters and partiers have a six-month amnesty to use up their personal supplies. They cannot buy any more, and it will also be illegal to sell or manufacture BZP.

And the law change means anyone caught with more than 5g of BZP, or more than 100 pills containing it, can be fined $500 or sentenced to three months in prison.

This means the women who yesterday splashed out on six bottles will have to keep their supplies well hidden.

This Pharmacy Council warning about the pills was circulated in 2006: "There is no known safe dosage of BZP . . . The Ministry [of Health] believes the 60mg of BZP reportedly contained in each daily dose of Slimfast means the cumulative dose is likely to be more than the amount taken by most people who consume party pills containing BZP intermittently."

Medsafe has taken action against distributors and retailers making therapeutic claims for the drug, which is not classed as a medicine and therefore has not been tested as one.

Creative Energy says it still makes three different types of Slimfast, none of which contains BZP. The Slimfast site has previously said that the "minimum effective" dose of 60mg of BZP was used because it increases metabolism, therefore burning more calories, and has a "mild uplifting" feeling that can motivate dieters to exercise.

Last week, the "where to buy" link on the site led to an announcement that the BZP pills had sold out, but a new BZP-free version, Slimfast Max, was better.

Strangely, that site now claims: "The BZP had nothing to do with the weight- loss but gave the feel-good factor to the old formulation."

Either way, its converts are not looking forward to the comedown.

- © Fairfax NZ News