SINGAPORE — Two slimming products sold on various online platforms have been found to contain sibutramine, a banned substance in Singapore that can pose serious health risks.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 16) that all sellers and suppliers of Body Slim Herbal and Sparkle Twins must stop selling them immediately.

Likewise, consumers are advised to stop taking both products immediately and to consult a doctor if necessary.

"Sibutramine has been withdrawn in Singapore since 2010 due to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes," HSA said. Other effects include breathing difficulties, palpitations, hallucinations or hearing voices.

The two products listed in the latest advisory were also falsely labelled. For example, Body Slim Herbal erroneously claimed to be "free of side effects" and "100 per cent natural (for) quick effect, faster weight loss".

Similarly, Sparkle Twins claimed to contain only natural ingredients and was marketed as a "lemon and pomegranate flavour" drink to promote weight loss, which was false, HSA said.

In recent years, several slimming products have been detected to contain sibutramine, the HSA noted.

Last June, HSA issued a similar alert for a weight-loss product called Nutriline Bluvelle, which also contained sibutramine. The product caused a woman in her 20s to experience "rapid heartbeats, anxiety, a drastic decrease in appetite, dizziness and lethargy".

Consumers were also alerted to two other products, Anyang Herbal Blue and Anyang Herbal Red, in March 2017, for containing "dangerously high levels" of sibutramine.

Despite claiming to have "no side effects" and containing "100 per cent natural ingredients", a woman in her late 20s who took Anyang Herbal Blue experienced heart palpitations, nausea, trembling of hands and legs, sweating, insomnia and illusions. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

In its Thursday advisory, the HSA reminded consumers to be wary of health products that promise or deliver quick and miraculous weight loss, or carry exaggerated claims such as "100 per cent safe" and "no side effects".

If convicted, anyone supplying illegal health products such as Body Slim Herbal and Sparkle Twins may be jailed up to three years, or fined up to S$100,000, or both.