Diet Pills Kill 21-Year-Old British Woman

The international police agency, Interpol, has issued a global alert over a potentially lethal diet pill which is believed to have caused the death of a British woman.

Eloise Parry, a 21-year-old student from the UK, “burned up from the inside” and died after taking pills containing the chemical 2.4-dinitrophenol (DNP), which is often used as a dieting and body building aid.

Eloise’s mother Fiona Parry said her daughter took eight diet pills she bought online. Two is considered a lethal dose.

“As the drug kicked in and started to make her metabolism soar, they attempted to cool her down but they were fighting an uphill battle. She was literally burning up from within. They never stood a chance of saving her,” she said.

The Interpol orange notice — which warns of imminent threats — has been sent to law enforcement agencies in 190 countries at the request of the French government. The pills are also believed to have left a French man seriously ill.

In a statement, Interpol said: “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.

“In addition to being produced in clandestine laboratories with no hygiene regulations, without specialist manufacturing knowledge the producers also expose consumers to an increased chance of overdose.”

Long-term side effects include skin lesions and cataracts, as well as damage to the heart and central nervous system. Research on animals suggests DNP is carcinogenic and increases the risk of birth defects.

After first being used in French munitions factories during the first world war, DNP became popular as a slimming aid among image-conscious consumers in the 1930s and again in the 1980s, each time being withdrawn after related deaths.

West Mercia police were still conducting an investigation into Parry’s death and last month issued a warning about buying diet pills online. Her mother, Fiona, said her daughter’s metabolism had “exploded like TNT” after she took the pills to lose weight, causing her to burn up from the inside.

Eloise began feeling unwell about lunchtime on 12 April and drove herself to the hospital, where she explained to doctors what she had taken. Fiona said there was no great panic because “[Eloise] was still completely lucid and with it. At this point she still seemed to be OK.”

That changed when doctors carried out a toxicology report. “The drug was in her system, there was no antidote, two tablets was a lethal dose and she had taken eight,” Fiona said in a tribute posted online.

“When she stopped breathing, they put her on a ventilator and carried on fighting to save her.

“When her heart stopped they couldn’t revive her. She had crashed. She had taken so much DNP that the consequences were inevitable. They never stood a chance of saving her. She burned and crashed.”

A study last year warned the drug could be linked to five more deaths in the UK between 2007 and 2013. Fiona Parry warned others to avoid it. “My message would be please don’t, please don’t take this drug,” she said. “They will take their toll and it is an awful way to die.”