Dangers Of 'Gas Station Heroin': FDA's Warning On Tianeptine Supplements

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Dangers of 'Gas Station Heroin': FDA's Warning on Tianeptine Supplements

30th Jan 2024 by Admin 208

Explore the FDA's urgent warnings about the growing concern of 'Gas Station Heroin' supplements, their impact, and the need for consumer awareness.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently intensified its warnings against the consumption or purchase of a synthetic drug known as tianeptine. This substance, colloquially referred to as 'Gas Station Heroin', is typically sold in tablet or powder form and is readily available for purchase online, as well as in convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops.

Tianeptine is the active ingredient in products such as Neptune's Fix, Za Za Red, and Tianaa. While it is approved in some countries as a prescription drug for the treatment of depression, it can mimic the actions of opioids like fentanyl, carrying similar risks of addiction, withdrawal, and overdose potential. It can also lead to psychosis, seizures, kidney damage, and even death.

Despite the FDA's active discouragement of its use since 2022, vendors continue to promote the drug as a dietary supplement. This is in spite of the FDA's explicit statement that tianeptine "does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient and is an unsafe food additive".

Tianeptine stimulates the same receptors as well-known opioids such as fentanyl, heroin, and morphine. High doses of tianeptine can bring euphoric effects similar to heroin and can also bring about the dissociative effect – the perception of your mind being disconnected from your surroundings and body.

Products containing tianeptine are often called "legal high drugs" – sometimes dubbed "gas station drugs" – a term used for all non-FDA-approved synthetic drugs that are sold casually in gas stations, online, and elsewhere.

Lawmakers are urging the FDA to review this supplement, which has been linked to seizures, overdoses, and death. Five members of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Colorado sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf with an urgent request for the body to review tianeptine and its presence in the U.S.

The lawmakers asked the FDA to show its research on the supplement, and provide information on how it's working with health departments and law enforcement to halt tianeptine's distribution. They also asked whether the FDA has worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify the supplement under the Controlled Substance Act.

The National Institutes of Health says on its website that tianeptine is a supplement used in Europe to treat people who respond poorly to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. But the substance is found in many gas stations, corner stores, and other convenience stores under the brand names Zaza and Tianna Red.

"Recent reporting indicates that tianeptine is extremely addictive and that tianeptine withdrawal symptoms are strikingly similar to opioid withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, chills, and insomnia,". "Recent medical research indicates that tianeptine can cause fatal overdoses."

In conclusion, the growing concern surrounding 'Gas Station Heroin' supplements necessitates increased consumer awareness and regulatory action. The dangers of tianeptine are real and present, and it is crucial for the public to be informed about the risks associated with its consumption.

Dangers of 'Gas Station Heroin': FDA's Warning on Tianeptine Supplements

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