Many over-the-counter dietary supplement products – particularly those used for sexual enhancement and weight loss – are tainted with undisclosed pharmaceutical ingredients. That is the key finding of my recently published review in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. My assessment of the Food and Drug Administration’s Health Fraud Product Database turned up 1,068 unique dietary supplement products marketed between […]

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More than two-thirds of Americans take dietary supplements. The vast majority of consumers – 84% – are confident the products are safe and effective. They should not be so trusting. I’m a professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut. As described in my new article in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, consumers take real risks if they use diet […]

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Different people taking the same drug can have markedly different responses to the same dose. While many people will get the intended effects, some may get little to no benefit, and others may get unwanted side effects. As a pharmacist who researches the safety and effectiveness of drugs, I know there are several reasons why this occurs, including individual physical […]

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Over 150 people in Illinois started bleeding uncontrollably after using synthetic cannabis-based products – including fake marijuana, Spice and K2 – that contained the rat poison brodifacoum in March and April 2018. By the end of July 2021, these banned products were still being sold in 10 states and the District of Columbia, resulting in hundreds of severe bleeds and […]

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