Dnp where to buy

An Irish website selling a weight loss aid that may have been sold in the United States has been closed. The website was marketing capsules containing milligrams of 2,4-Dinitrophenol DNP using an address that implied the substance may be used for weight loss.

DNP is a yellow powder, often put into tablets before being sold as a fat loss aid. It is an industrial chemical that is not intended for human consumption.

Latest statistics show that in the ten months between January and September , there were 17 cases referred to the NPIS, compared with 12 in the whole of The number of cases of DNP poisoning discussed with the NPIS may seem small, compared with the thousands of cases relating to paracetamol poisoning, for example, but the high fatality risk associated with DNP as well as the uptick in cases are a cause for concern.

Simon Thomas, national clinical lead at the National Poisons Information Service, says the difference between the DNP dose required for weight loss and that associated with fatality is relatively small. These cases, of course, only paint part of the picture. By the time a case comes to the attention of the NPIS, a patient is likely displaying symptoms in an emergency room. What is clear, though, is that all healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, need to be aware of what DNP is and the risk it poses.

DNP was first used on an industrial scale to make bombs. Mixed with picric acid during the First World War to make explosives, its impact on workers in the French munitions factories acted as an early omen of how use would evolve. Those exposed felt fatigue, sweated excessively and had elevated body temperatures — and they also lost weight.

These symptoms occur because DNP works by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Energy is therefore released as heat, which means that adenosine triphosphate ATP — which provides energy for cell processes — is not made, explains Philip Strange, emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of Reading. Observing this unintended weight loss among factory workers led to further studies and, by the early s, it was being touted as a magic bullet for weight loss.

According to Strange, by , around 20 wholesale drug firms were marketing DNP and as many as , people had taken it in the United States alone. At this point the substance was still legal, so most sales occurred through local pharmacies. If you get the dose wrong then breakdown of body fat coupled with overheating and a lack of ATP can lead to death.

There is no effective treatment for someone who has taken too much. However, it quickly became apparent that DNP was less a magic bullet and more a deadly one.

As a result, side effects were common and severe and, in some cases, fatal. Illegality was not enough to prevent further experimentation. The strongest agreement 4. Qualitative responses provided overwhelming support for the explicitly expressed demand for accurate and impartial information on DNP.

Notably, in those who ask for more information, the danger of DNP is clearly acknowledged and not the drug but users are blamed for detrimental health consequences:. Proper understanding of the effects of DNP is necessary for the proper application of it. Any tool can be a weapon of self-destruction in the hands of a fool.

DNP is already hard enough to get for those who are benefitted by it. I feel DNP is a far superior solution to surgical intervention for those who have difficulty losing weight or have devastating metabolic syndromes that modern medicine fails to allow DNP to be used to treat.

A quick drop of 50 pounds would do your average diabetic person a world of good! DNP is a relatively effective non-invasive tool to do that. Far more people have died from obesity and metabolic related syndromes or had decreased quality and length of life than will ever be lost to DNP abuse.

DNP has the power to do so much good in the hands of caring health practitioners and educated citizens. However, people are stupid. If you can die from something, people WILL die from something. DNP is no exception. However to the educated people who research, DNP is an effective supplement. Media reports on DNP-related death cases appear to support this argument showing that many DNP deaths were caused by reckless use or incidental overdose; either by young individuals who suffer from some form of eating disorder or inexperienced users [ 63 — 66 ].

One of the most recent examples is the tragic death of Eloise Parry who apparently took eight diet pills containing DNP [ 63 ]. As one 22 year old male said:. Now granted it is a dangerous drug.

That typically scares people, which is why the FDA banned it. Human analogy suggests that if something works, take more. Reference to alcohol and tobacco - the two substances typically used as baselines for any supportive argument for relaxed drug regulation - also appeared in the supportive argument for DNP:.

I do not consider it any more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes. I believe medical authorities should research this as a partial cure for obesity. Under the supervision of a medical professional I believe this could improve the quality of life of millions. More than one participant risked health consequences from DNP simply for satisfying curiosity e.

Others were more cautious and thoroughly researched DNP before they decided to try it. Started at lbs. Death is hardly the norm. On average, DNP users estimated that a quarter of bodybuilders Detailed normative perceptions by user details current use of fat-burner and having experience with other illegal supplements are depicted in Fig. The small effect size suggests that current behaviour with similar drugs does not influence the estimation regarding DNP. From literature precedence, it was expected that the perceived legality of the drug - possibly through mental representation of DNP - could influence the estimation of DNP use among others.

In similar context, it has been observed that athletes involved in socially detested behaviour e. Future research specifically tailored to investigate projection bias is needed to ascertain if the difference manifests in subsequent studies with robust evidence for statistical significance.

Comparison of the perceived normative estimation of DNP use among bodybuilders and avid exercisers based on a whether fat-burner substance is used at the time of data collection and b having experience with other illegal supplements. DNP represents a grey area on multiple accounts. Technically, DNP is not an illegal drug to take, but it is not licensed for human consumption, thus selling for such purpose is illegal.

From the cognitive point of view, it is an interesting case because DNP may very well be perceived as illegal owing to the clandestine nature of purchase and use, even if from the legislative point of view, there is nothing illegal about buying and using DNP. A similar phenomenon has been observed regarding performance enhancing nutritional supplements among athletes [ 70 ].

Thus we expected that those using other illegal substances may automatically class DNP as illegal whereas those who do not use anything illegal had a more accurate view. Perhaps it is because legality is important to these users, not wanting to cross the border between legal and illegal; whereas those with experience with illegal supplements already did so. Further research with experimental design manipulating the legality condition is needed to ascertain whether a heuristic bias regarding DNP exists i.

The importance of this aspect lies in the potential effect on prevention strategies and communication. Break-down of the estimations by the type of gym Fig. Further research with adequately powered statistical test is warranted. Comparison of a the perceived normative estimation of DNP use among bodybuilders and avid exercisers and b visibility of DNP use by the type of gym used in the sample.

The reported proportion of known DNP users was surprisingly low across the sample. Against the average number of bodybuilders personally known by the sample The average number of DNP users expected from the projected prevalence 2. Taken together, these results suggest that DNP practices and experiences are shared online, but not in real life. DNP use appears to take place in isolation. This may partly so because of the social disapproval of DNP use, even among bodybuilders; but also because managing the side effects profuse sweating, skin discoloration, etc.

In fact, new users are advised in discussion forums to start the cycle when on holiday if they are in employment. Conceivably, sharing experiences online is a way to deal with isolation and loneliness during a DNP course.

If this is the case, online forums play an important role beyond being a compendium of DNP knowledge; and it warrants further investigation. During data collection we encountered numerous cases where people, who willingly shared their experiences with DNP and readily offered information and advice to other forum users, were initially suspicious of a newcomer asking questions about DNP and were not very willing to participate until the investigator gained trust and became accepted in this unique group.

Perhaps DNP in a sporting context, owing to its high risk and harsh side effects, is similar to harsh drugs among substance users, where people are much more ready to admit using a relatively harmless substance e. Whilst the stigma attached to psychoactive drugs has two facets addiction and criminalisation , for DNP, it is conceivable that such distinction is mainly driven by the degree of health risk and rather than legal consequences.

First, against the relatively low reported number of deaths from DNP, it can create a false sense of security by believing that DNP use is a common and safe practice.

I was not on anabolics and I have never taken them so my results may not have been as good as others on online forums. Because we did not ask the participants to reveal full details of their supplement and substance use, future research is required to ascertain the relationship between DNP and other, legal and illegal, substances. It is reassuring that pure DNP or as active ingredient at the typical dose of mg was not found among the supplement samples.

However against this background, a potentially dangerous discrepancy emerged between the views of users and regulators about how DNP is marketed and sold.

Whilst DNP is marketed as an effective weight-loss aid, DNP as active ingredient is disguised for shipping purposes only i. Owing to the grey area in legislation, there is no need for sellers to disguise DNP under fictitious supplement names to evade FSA or equivalent regulatory bodies worldwide. On one hand, it is comforting because it lessens the chance for inadvertent exposure. On the other hand, with positive feedback and supportive attitude toward DNP use as an effective fat-burner brimming the Internet, coupled with the easy availability of DNP, there is a danger that naive dieters or members of vulnerable groups who are unable to make rational and informed decisions about weight-management practices, are tempted to try DNP.

Because the potential DNP user groups are qualitatively different, a one fits all approach to prevention is not likely to be sufficient. The naive and vulnerable need protection with strong preventive measures, whereas the community of determined and committed DNP users would benefit from information, medical help and harm-reduction.

Regulators and policy makers are advised to proceed with care in this tightrope-balance situation. Tightened access control is likely to protect the general public but will not dissuade determined users from DNP. As it has been observed with other illegal- and performance-enhancing substances [ 71 , 72 ], if selling the substance poses too high of a risk to distributors, social dealers who are socioculturally similar to buyers move out and are replaced by organised crime.

It has been established that increase in punishment for the lesser crime inevitably drives criminal activities toward the more serious end of the spectrum if the more serious crime also means a reduced chance of being caught [ 73 ]. Based on one dominant outcome of this study, namely how DNP users ensure quality and safety, it is reasonable to assume that relationship between buyers and suppliers in the bodybuilding drug market resembles a form of social dealership; albeit in most cases, the relationship maybe virtual and transactions are made through the means of the Internet.

Thus, trust in suppliers may have different dimensions which are possibly negotiated through additional roles e.

If this hypothesis gains empirical support in the future, then suppliers indeed play an important role in keeping the bodybuilding drug market relatively safe. If harsher penalties drive the knowledgeable, and somewhat customer-oriented suppliers out of the market because selling such substances is no longer worth the risk, then they will inevitably be replaced by the profit-oriented suppliers without knowledge specific to the drugs e.

Then DNP may move out from the highly visible Internet to the invisible dark net, making it less traceable or controllable. It may also motivate manufacturers to market DNP in disguise. Contamination or adulteration with DNP was found in Almost half Thus, deliberate adulteration and violation of the labelling requirement [ 38 ] is less likely than contamination owing to poor quality control.

Despite warnings issued by food standard agencies and national health services, online retail sites that are actively promoting and selling DNP are easily found on the Internet. People who are interested in trying DNP can find a plethora of accounts of first hand experiences and user advice on how to avoid side effects including dosage, duration, incremental increase in amount taken to build tolerance, recommended daily water intake and diet plans to follow while taking DNP from discussion forums and blogs.

The survey results, coupled with the Internet forums, provided immutable evidence that DNP is knowingly used whilst the risks associated with such use is acknowledged.

Motivated by the desirable goal fat loss, either as an end result or a mean to an end , dedicated bodybuilders and exercisers have used and, by large, plan to continue using DNP. This group appears to be qualitatively different from those described in the media for DNP death- or near-death incidents. DNP users in our sample specifically sought DNP with the intention to use or try; as opposed to using a slimming aid that happens to be or contains high dose of DNP. Their approach to DNP focuses on being experienced in controlling weight and in controlled weight-loss practices, and they warn new users against thinking of DNP as a quick fix.

In fact, DNP users exhibited a high degree of control and knowledge as well as exercised precautions. Experienced DNP users act as gatekeepers for sensible and safe use, which indicates the presence of a grass-root, self-organised and sustained harm-reduction. This observation is underscored by the overwhelmingly strong theme that emerged from the qualitative responses, expressing the desire for accurate knowledge about DNP and help in using DNP safely. It is without doubt that DNP use is a controversial behaviour, even among bodybuilders, and highly risky in terms of potential health consequences.

Apart from the crucial difference that DNP directly affects no one but the user i. Instead, in the current legislative context, downplaying these health consequences and making advantageous comparisons, coupled with expressing high confidence in control over use, is better interpreted as rationalisation mechanism typically employed in functional use of mind-altering drugs [ 40 ].

As part of the normalisation process, rationalising using performance enhancing drugs with similar arguments has been evidenced previously [ 83 — 86 ]. Preventive efforts would further benefit from research into the most effective message framing and delivery to discourage people from risky experimentation with unknown and unlicensed body-image enhancing substances.

Accepting that some people will not be deterred from self-experimenting with effective appearance and performance-enhancing drugs such as DNP ways of harm-reduction should be considered. This is similar to the role the Internet plays in the current drug culture [ 87 ] and related knowledge exchange [ 88 , 89 ].

Unlike with most novel psychoactive substances, where harm can most likely to be mitigated via advice on safe use, the combination of DNP dosage and length of the cycle that works safely and effectively for one may kill or seriously harm another. A harm reduction approach via providing accurate and scientifically evidenced information highlighting the lack of established safe levels for DNP could effectively prevent naive users playing Russian roulette with the substance.

In the absence of this, the only information source at the disposal of the interested users is the Internet and where they can only turn to forums and blogs for advice. The study, being the first of this type on DNP, inherently carries several limitations. The multi-study nature of this project did not afford more in-depth exploration of one particular aspect but opened interesting avenues and raised important questions for future research.

Another limitation of this study is the small sample size from gym donations for testing, which prevents us drawing meaningful conclusions for the general population of recreational or fitness exercisers. The relatively small sample of DNP users renders testing for statistically significant differences difficult and results arising from statistical analyses should be interpreted cautiously. They are presented to illustrate possible trends to inform future research directions rather than drawing definite conclusions.

For the latter, the research should be repeated in a larger sample. However, it must be noted that although by the general standards of survey methodology, the sample size may appear small; owing to the high level of suspicion that surrounds any enquiry about DNP by a newcomer who is not known in the online discussion board community, recruiting 35 users is a considerable achievement which took approximately nine months.

With the small sample size limitation for quantitative analysis acknowledged, the open-ended questions however yielded rich qualitative information from a significant cohort of DNP users on how DNP users feel about DNP, rationalise their behavioural choice and manage the risks that they are fully aware of. Future studies should address the limitations of this study whilst moving the research forward toward a better understanding of the complexity of behavioural motivations and reasons in these distinctively different populations of DNP users.

Studies focusing on people with disordered eating and extreme dieters will make valuable contributions, so would expanding the scope of personality factors and situational demands. Future investigation could also focus on the cognitive process of dealing with conflicting information i. DNP can be used safely with care in the context of weight-related goals and past experiences, along with associated risk perception, compensatory belief mechanism particularly in the light of the elevated risk willingness if past experience with similar drugs are available and trust in information sources and purchase options.

Findings from these lines of enquiry may then be further expanded and extrapolated to other substance categories such as stimulants, nootropics and novel psychoactive substances legal highs. Distinguishing between user groups could be vital for targeted prevention and harm reduction. Because the majority of the DNP users reported concomitant supplement use, further investigation is warranted to explore what other substances are used while on DNP regime.

Future investigations should also explore if side effects or severity of side effects are associated with a specific form in which DNP was purchased. This could be an important factor for harm-reduction but the present study does not have sufficiently detailed information to adequately test this hypothesis.

Public health authorities and regulatory bodies would benefit from a better understanding of the role of trust in information in situations that carry a degree of health-risks and transgresses social and legal boundaries.

Although it could be argued that the majority of the users in the present sample may not have a real need for the desired fat loss, reporting already low body fat percentage, DNP use is not limited to this particular population. Considerable increases in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes flag these as global health challenges which warrant high levels of focused research.

DNP has undoubtedly a major contribution to make for weight loss, should the side-effect profile be controlled. A recent report reveals that controlled-release formulation of DNP had considerable health benefits including reversing diabetes but with no toxicity in rat models [ 90 ]. That is not to promote a laissez fair attitude toward DNP, or support or encourage unlicensed substance use.

Quite the contrary, we propagate a pragmatic view to facilitate the development of evidence-based, effective and ecologically valid prevention- and harm-reduction strategies.

A recent report by Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs ACMD clearly showed that successful efforts to drug- and substance use prevention are likely to be multi-sectoral with multiple components [ 91 ]. Keeping DNP use along with similar substances under control is feasible if legislation, law enforcement, health-care, public health social marketing campaigns, authorities of food- and drug safety and education work in concert.

Environmental prevention through market and marketing controls should work in tandem with social marketing delivering balanced and accurate information and health-care support, including offering alternatives to address the driving forces behind DNP use and engage in harm-reduction where prevention is not achievable.

Striking the right balance between restriction of access; legal consequences of producing, selling and using; research advances into safety and psychosocial interventions through education which target the underlying reasons and motives could form positive synergy for a holistic approach and effectively address this public health concern in a pragmatic way.

Contamination or adulteration with DNP may violate labelling and manufacturing requirements for dietary supplements but accidental ingestion, owing to the low level found, does not appear to pose significant health risks to the public. Public health concern however is linked to the deliberate use and willingness to use uncut compound despite the health warning and the lack of control that surrounds the quality and availability of this highly dangerous substance to inexperienced or naive users.

To mitigate health risks people willingly take with unknown, unlicensed and potentially dangerous substances is to devise end-user-centred, proactive public health policies. For the first time in research on DNP, this study gave voice to the users and presents their authentic view in a non-judgemental way to inform public health policies. Off-label use of DNP is unlikely to cease and thus realistic attempts should be made to address the issues. The most critical point that social marketing information should stress is the lack of established safe limit.

Owing to the wide variation in individual sensitivity to DNP, what works for most or many - as detailed on the Internet forums and blogs - could be toxic or even lethal to others. For the first time, it is a Russian roulette for every single user. Effective prevention should even move beyond knowledge-based intervention such as issuing health warnings regarding DNP and simultaneously tackle the motivations and tangible reasons behind the potentially risky behaviour with unknown or unlicensed drugs and incorporate harm-reduction measures as well as making investment into researching a safer but equally potent formulation.

The authors are grateful to all participants for their trust, time and contribution to this project. The authors thank Paul Jordan for bringing his knowledge and expertise to researching the Internet retail sites during his work placement at Kingston University. The Food Standards Agency has no influence over the content of this report. PDF kb. RAJ contributed to the sampling design and to the internet search, and managed the gym sample collection. RN managed the supplement sample collection.

AP drafted the first version of the manuscript. Users experience a metabolism boost, leading to weight loss, but taking even a few tablets can be fatal. Signs of acute poisoning include nausea, vomiting, restlessness, flushed skin, sweating, dizziness, headaches, rapid respiration and irregular heartbeat. Consuming lower amounts over longer periods could lead to cataracts and skin lesions and impact on the heart, blood and nervous system. Experts say buying drugs online is risky as medicines may be fake, out of date or extremely harmful.

Related Topics. Shrewsbury Weight loss. Published 27 July Published 7 September