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Global warning over deadly diet drug

The death of Eloise Parry contributed to the global alert. Photo: West Mercia Police

The international police agency INTERPOL is warning Australians about an online diet pill known as DNP which has now been linked to more than 60 deaths.

It was first used for dieting as far back as the 1930s and contains a toxic combination of chemicals that can cause extreme body temperatures, brain damages and even blindness.

It has been linked to cataracts, skin lesions and heart damage, even cancer with long-term use.

DNP is also believed to have been involved in the death of Sydney bodybuilder and social media star Aziz “Zyzz” Shavershian in 2011.

Its chemical name is 2,4 Dinitrophenol, a compound that was originally used to ignite and make TNT. It is also used as a pesticide.

At just 21-years-old Eloise Parry died in an English hospital earlier this year, after taking the pills which she bought over the internet.

Her mother Fiona Parry said two pills would have been enough to kill her daughter.


“She had taken eight,” Ms Parry said. “I don’t believe for one minute she realised how dangerous it was.”

Eloise’s death follows those of 28-year-old bodybuilder Sean Cleathero, whose body temperature hit 42 degrees, medical student Sarah Houston, 23, and rugby player Chris Mapletott, 18.

Chris’s mother Lesley Mapletott said it had been incredibly simple for her son to acquire DNP.

“We find it unbelievable that with a few clicks of a button, DNP is so easily available on the internet and how some people seem to think it’s an okay thing to take,” Ms Mapletott said.

INTERPOL has now issued a global alert after the drug was linked to 64 deaths.

General practitioner Ginni Mansberg said DNP put the human body under a huge amount of pressure.

“It generates a lot of heat, speeds up your heart rate, puts up your blood pressure, can give you a heart attack and can be fatal,” Dr Mansberg said.

According to a statement from INTERPOL, its warning over the drug came after seizures of DNP in Australia.

“Under its anti-doping project, INTERPOL collaborated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and received additional information from the global anti-doping organisation after one of the WADA-accredited laboratories received a sample of the drug following a seizure in Australia,” the statement read.

“Although usually sold in yellow powder or capsule form, DNP is also available as a cream.

“Besides the intrinsic dangers of DNP, the risks associated with its use are magnified by illegal manufacturing conditions.”

News break - May 7