DAMMAM: Obesity and being overweight is a common problem all over the world and people try, by any means, to lose weight. There are many means of doing do including diets and medications.

Talal Ahmed Al-Khedr, an expert on the treatment of obesity, said that many people take the weight-loss medications without knowing anything about their possible side-effects.

Al-Khedr said that there were some recent pills advertised on Instagram which claimed to be a magic solution for obesity. The cost was SR1,750 per packet.

He warned that these pills contained sibutramine which inhibits appetite and which was banned in the US in 2010 after studies by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA said that the drug could cause serious side-effects, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and thrombosis which can lead to sudden death as well as along with chronic epilepsy and mental irregularities.

Lawyer Muhammed Al-Otaibi said: “Article No. 15 of the Commercial Fraud Law provides that anyone practicing deception or using improper scales or selling an adulterated or defective products which are harmful to human or animal health will be punished with not more than a fine of SR1 million or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.”

In addition, Article 19 provides that the right of compensation shall not be prejudiced for victims who suffered as a result of any conditions set forth in this law, and the violator must withdraw the defective product, and treat the buyer in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified in the law, Al-Otaibi added.