You won’t believe it (just kidding, you definitely will), but an over-the-counter “male enhancement” supplement was just busted by the FDA. In fact, two of them were, and while their names are almost identical, they apparently come from two different companies. Thumbs Up 7 Blue 69k and Thumbs Up 7 Red 70k have different company names listed on the FDA’s recall bulletins, but it doesn’t really matter.
As is almost always the case, the supplements promising better performance in the bedroom contain prescription drugs like Sildenafil and Tadalafil, which are the active ingredients in drugs like Viagra and Cialis. It’s clear at this point that these companies don’t actually care about the health of their customers, and whoever is behind these shady outfits simply takes the pills they get busted for, come up with some other goofy name, and then sell them again until the FDA has time to test them and bust them again.
In this case, Antoto-K (maker of Thumbs Up 7 Red 70K) and Bit & Bet LLC (maker of Thumbs Up 7 Blue 69K) are both “voluntarily” recalling the supplements after the FDA’s findings. Saying that it’s voluntary is an interesting choice since what they were doing is in fact illegal, but because of the way the FDA handles inspections and recalls, they have to give the companies a chance to recall the products. If the FDA could send in federal law enforcement when it finds yet another “tainted” supplement, you’d probably stop hearing about cases like this.
Anyway, the cheap erection pills sold in gas stations and online are now off the market, but for how long? Earlier this month an FDA recall bulletin was posted for a few other male supplements sold by PremierZEN but supposedly produced by a different company. PremierZEN has popped up time and time again in recall alerts for male supplements that include prescription drugs, and while the products they sell are often under different (hilariously cheesy) brand names, they all use the same artwork on the packaging and are almost certainly the exact same formula that keeps popping up in these recalls.
The FDA is trying to prevent this from happening by asking that places like eBay and Amazon, which often carry the pills, to prevent them from being sold, but the agency can only do so much. It would be up to a law enforcement agency to actually pursue charges regarding the intentional mislabeling of these supplements, and at this point, it doesn’t look like anyone is interested in doing that.
The risks to consumers are great, as individuals with heart conditions or other medical issues may opt for these “drug-free” supplements in place of options like Viagra and Cialis. Instead, they end up taking the very drugs they were trying to avoid and putting their health at risk in the process.
Hopefully, something can be done about companies like these, but we’ll have to wait and see if they get what they ultimately deserve or if they’ll just keep peddling the same tainted junk for another decade.
