Internet slimming pills warning

The illicit availability of appetite suppressant pills online is fuelling a slimming obsession and putting lives at risk, experts warn.

Last year, a study found more than half of 1,230 UK women surveyed by Closerdiets.com admitted using slimming pills.

Dr Emafo said: "It is important for consumers to realise that what they think is a cut-price medication bought on an unregulated market may however have potentially lethal effects whenever the consumed drugs are not the genuine product or are taken without medical advice."

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the global availability of counterfeit medicine had increased in recent years, through unregulated web sites operating on the internet.