U.S. Diet Pills Recalled For Fear of Tampering

A non-prescription weight loss drug is being recalled across the United States after consumers found foreign pills and tablets in some bottles. Counterfeit versions of the drug are finding their way into the U.S. market via the Internet, federal investigators reported in the past.

GlaxoSmithKline is reportedly recalling all supplies of Alli, a non-prescription weight-loss drug that was initially immensely popular in the U.S. a few years ago.

According to representatives from the British drug company, 20 bottles sold in the U.S. have been reported by consumers to contain tablets and capsules that were not Alli. These reports prompted GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall all bottles of Alli shipped to the United States and Puerto Rico.

Due to varying report, GSK investigators are saying that it is not clear exactly how or when the bottles had been tampered with, but a thorough investigation of the bottles' supply chain is still underway, according to a recent Reuters report.

The FDA has warned consumers to keep a lookout for bottle containing capsules of various shapes and colors that differ from the authentic drug -- a turquoise-blue capsule.

These recent report are reminiscent of past FDA involvement with Alli, when counterfeited versions the once hugely popular drug found their way into the U.S. market via online suppliers and auctioneers.

According to a 2010 FDA report, the counterfeit versions of the drug began to appear when GSK began to experience unforeseen supply trouble in the U.S. -- which eventually led to the drug's poor sale numbers in the following years.

Those counterfeited drugs sometimes contained various capsules dissimilar to Alli, much like seen in the tampered bottles this year. Federal investigators reported that other counterfeited bottles contained product that looked like the Alli but contained over three times the usual daily dose of the drug -- a potentially dangerous dosage that could cause anxiety, heart palpitations, insomnia, and increased blood pressure.

It remains unclear if these recent contaminated bottles contain similar product, but there have been no report of any serious illness related to Alli, according to a Reuters report.