Supplements under investigation

hardtrainer

Just to play devils advocate, but if someone were to read through this thread they might be forgiven for thinking that everyone here were addicted to their fitness supplements

The IMB have every right to demand that the products are removed from sale. They don't have to justify their decision. The law is very plain and simple in this matter.

I agree with T-Ha's sentiment. Why do folks need so many supplements for their training?

I'll be the first to raise my hand and say I've tried all kinds of things over the years, but honestly, I don't think they are of much benefit. Placebo effect plays a very important role in their sale I think.

SpAcEd OuT

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

1-AD is no longer sold quite possibly the best legal supplement out there.

I would convey my sense of anger at this stupid ruling but it would amount to little more than a page of obscenities.

SpAcEd OuT

Jon wrote: »

Animal Pak is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over the RDA's - scarily so !!

Out of interest jon what are you going to do with all the extra supplements you have

yomchi

SpAcEd OuT wrote: »

Out of interest jon what are you going to do with all the extra supplements you have

Eat them

#Smokey#

Edited by Mod

- What did i say about talking about where to get things that are being taken off the market?

hansman

I'm going to England next week and really want to get hold of some no-xplode. Is it alright to bring it back into the country? Is it just illegal to sell here but alright to have?? Sry mods if shouldnt be askin but thought it wld be ok to ask about the law...

crotalus667

hansman wrote: »

I'm going to England next week and really want to get hold of some no-xplode. Is it alright to bring it back into the country? Is it just illegal to sell here but alright to have?? Sry mods if shouldnt be askin but thought it wld be ok to ask about the law...

NO it's not ok

SpAcEd OuT

hansman you will be fine.

hansman

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought this new rule meant that these supplements just had to be classed as a medicine and could only therefore be sold by pharmacies and medical people.I dont think it means the product is banned period it's just not allowed to be sold in the way it was. Is this correct? Wouldnt this mean I could bring some back from England??

justsomebloke

no the products are not banned, as far as I am aware you need to have a perscriprion to have them though, hence you can not take them in from the UK without a presciption. If you do then you are breaking the law.

All I have to say though is when was the last time you saw anyone being stopped by customs before in Dublin Airport.

That all said though if you are that dependant on a product that you are willing to bring in a controlled substance and are worried about getting caught with it, just to get through a gym session then you really need to start questioning your work out ethic

maxi-twist

hansman wrote: »

I'm going to England next week and really want to get hold of some no-xplode. Is it alright to bring it back into the country? Is it just illegal to sell here but alright to have?? Sry mods if shouldnt be askin but thought it wld be ok to ask about the law...

Honsmon, dont be ridiculous! You dont need no xplode, your big enough already! Bring me back the latest installment of abercrombie aswell you jock!:D

fatal

Dragan wrote: »

Hey guys,

just off the phone with the IMB, i have asked to speak to someone who can clearly detail the way the IMB will be acting over the coming weeks and also the reasoning behind some of the decisions they have made.

The person i was talking to wasn't a massive help, but they have guaranteed me a phone call from someone with all the answers next Tuesday.

I'll keep you all updated.

have they contacted you yet?

Dragan

fatal wrote: »

have they contacted you yet?

Not even a peep out of them, despite two more phone calls from me.

Can't say as i blame them, they hardly need to defend there position to me.

yomchi

We got our visit today from the IMB. They whirled through the door all stoney faced with ID cards etc. They were actally a sound bunch, even though they took a very small amount off us.

Taken;
Animal Pak
No-Explode
Ripped Fuel
Animal Cuts
Tribuactiv B6
Stak
Shock Therapy

I'm pissed over Shock therapy, I love that stuff!
Anyway, what they said was that there was one particular guy in the media had caught onto this 'story' - and was pushing it through the various media avenues, as we've seen and they've had to act on it. Without saying too much they said a particular supplement shop based in the city centre had ruined it for everyone by continuously disregarding regulations to a mammoth degree, basically sticking 2 fingers up - and now they've had to clamp down.

Here is a link to the certain ingredients that are classed as medicinal - any product found to have these contained in it are prescription based only

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2003/en/si/0540.html

Mickk

Thats wierd they didn't take his animal pak, with over 900 instock they probly didn't have big enough vans...

yomchi

There are two variations of Animal Pak, one sourced in Europe is within the EU guidlines on RDA's the one sourced in the states is way over. They left us with the one's we had brought in from England and cleaned us out of our American one's.

They also stated that they have extra 'patrols' now on the ports and airports watching for stuff coming in from the states and eastern europe - anything with BB.comon it WILL NOT get through - their words!

mack1

Jon wrote: »

There are two variations of Animal Pak, one sourced in Europe is within the EU guidlines on RDA's the one sourced in the states is way over. They left us with the one's we had brought in from England and cleaned us out of our American one's.

They also stated that they have extra 'patrols' now on the ports and airports watching for stuff coming in from the states and eastern europe - anything with BB.comon it WILL NOT get through - their words!

hehe, I can see the picture on the front of the paper now, 2 ripped doberman sniffer dogs that can bench twice their bodyweight standing beside a couple of triumphant customs officials holding a few tubs of NO Explode in the foregound while a couple of ex-IRA heads skip past in the background with a box of C4!!

Hanley

Jon wrote: »

There are two variations of Animal Pak, one sourced in Europe is within the EU guidlines on RDA's the one sourced in the states is way over. They left us with the one's we had brought in from England and cleaned us out of our American one's.

They also stated that they have extra 'patrols' now on the ports and airports watching for stuff coming in from the states and eastern europe - anything with BB.comon it WILL NOT get through - their words!

Did they just flat out TAKE your stock???

Surely you've some come back on them..? Like it's not as if they gave fair notice for you to dispose of your stock or get a refund from your suppliers or even get rid of it to non-EU countries.

smellslikeshoes

Curious about this myself I must admit that it sounds terrible, being out of pocket for something that was grand not long ago when you got it in but since then its become illegal. They really should have given notice of their intentions long before they went confiscating things.

Dragan

Hanley wrote: »

Did they just flat out TAKE your stock???

Surely you've some come back on them..? Like it's not as if they gave fair notice for you to dispose of your stock or get a refund from your suppliers or even get rid of it to non-EU countries.

To be honest, as far as i am aware the IMB have been working on this for years.....and the law is the law....they are perfectly entitled to just take whatever is outside of regulations.

Wish i worked in IMB.....imagine all the supps you could get!

tribulus

I wonder if there's any corrupt lifters working for them lol...

Dragan

tribulus wrote: »

I wonder if there's any corrupt lifters working for them lol...

Whenever i think of the customs cage i get the image of this massive jacked up dude necking supplements all day!!!

g'em

They hit a supplement store in Dun Laoghaire yesterday and did the very same thing - picked up the supps that were banned and walked away with them. But they were very gracious about it and very helpful apparently. Allegedly part of the reason behind the quite sudden clamp down has been media pressure. Unfortunately that pressue has arisen as a result of a single bad-egg shop owner ruining the business for everyone else through irresponsible practice.

I still don't agree with the way things have come about in this, and I don't agree with the approach the IMB have taken towards supplements, but it seems the whole issue will die down soon enough. The IMB stance will not change though. The shops haven't been closed, there's still whey on the shelves, it just means we'll have ot look for alternatives to some of our old-favourite products.

As for what's going to happen with the naturopathy remedies and herbal medicines, well, that's another topic...

Mickk

Jon wrote: »

There are two variations of Animal Pak, one sourced in Europe is within the EU guidlines on RDA's the one sourced in the states is way over. They left us with the one's we had brought in from England and cleaned us out of our American one's.

They also stated that they have extra 'patrols' now on the ports and airports watching for stuff coming in from the states and eastern europe - anything with BB.comon it WILL NOT get through - their words!

No check again, you were lucky...

Frank Bullitt

Jon wrote: »

There are two variations of Animal Pak, one sourced in Europe is within the EU guidlines on RDA's the one sourced in the states is way over. They left us with the one's we had brought in from England and cleaned us out of our American one's.

They also stated that they have extra 'patrols' now on the ports and airports watching for stuff coming in from the states and eastern europe - anything with BB.comon it WILL NOT get through - their words!

When you say anything with BB.com on it, does that include everything or just the illegal stuff?

g'em

Mickk wrote: »

No check again, you were lucky...

Jon's not the only one to have the Animal Pak untouched.

eclectichoney

Gintonious wrote: »

When you say anything with BB.com on it, does that include everything or just the illegal stuff?

I ordered a box of protein bars from bb.com last week, do you think there's any chance they'll make it through ok?

crotalus667

eclectichoney wrote: »

I ordered a box of protein bars from bb.com last week, do you think there's any chance they'll make it through ok?

If there's nothing banned in them the schould be fine it will just take ages for customs to check and relese them

yomchi

Strange that about the Pak, I've also noticed that some of the stuff they were harping on about is also present in Thermobol, which they didn't tough either.
G'em thats the exact same response I got fro them.

About BB.com they said they have written officially to them about sending 'dodgy' supps towards Ireland, they said anything with BB.com on the label will be subject to a stop and search, more so because BB.com keep ignoring them and their letters.

While we were lucky with a couple of hundred euro worth of stuff going, the main culprit lost €35,000 worth of stuff!!

Mickk

Jon wrote: »

Strange that about the Pak, I've also noticed that some of the stuff they were harping on about is also present in Thermobol, which they didn't tough either.
G'em thats the exact same response I got fro them.

Yup argos are selling stuff with the exact same banned ingredient as NoXplode. The IMB cant even read their own rules, what hope is there for the rest of us...
It really is picking on the sports supplements side of things and really big retailers/health stores are breaking laws all over the place.

walt0r

Does this mean I can't order animal pak and stak 2 from BB.com? ****ing ***** who they think they are

#Smokey#

well walt0r i ordered and received my stuff last week. its chance

Khannie

fatal wrote: »

good work dragon.Im looking forward to hearing their reasoning for all of this madness

+1. I'm guessing this bullology is the reason my fedex parcel has been sitting in customs clearance since Wednesday. :rolleyes:

crotalus667 wrote: »

If there's nothing banned in them the schould be fine it will just take ages for customs to check and relese them

Any idea how long ages is? There I was cursing fedex.

crotalus667

Khannie wrote: »

Any idea how long ages is? There I was cursing fedex.

It depends on how big the backlog is keep inming we are getting close to christmas:(

Khannie

Something occured to me....what about those juice bars? I mean...they're selling a product which surely (in some cases at least) must have > 100% rda of /some/ vitamin. Are they gonna control them too?

Khannie

So....I asked about amino acids (lysine in particular, but it applies to any uncontrolled single amino acid supplement). In short, they're fine, but the IMB's position is unequivocal: They would rather see high dosage amino acids classed as a medical substance and controlled as such.

I'm guessing it's just a matter of time until this happens. I presume creatine will be the focus since it has received so much attention in the press.

Frank Bullitt

Im not totally sure what got banned etc so im hoping someone here can help me out before i order something, dont want to put down an order and then it gets taken.
so here is the list:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/mag.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/purple.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/grow.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/flood.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/white.html

any help is seriously welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

crotalus667

Gintonious wrote: »

Im not totally sure what got banned etc so im hoping someone here can help me out before i order something, dont want to put down an order and then it gets taken.
so here is the list:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/mag.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/purple.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/grow.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/flood.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/white.html

any help is seriously welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's best not to order form bb.com as it is going to get stoped and checked so you will have a long wait for it

hardtrainer

This thread has so much misinformation, speculation and rumour that it's really not of much value.

The IMB are not the bad guys, they're simply carrying out their duty. They haven't done anything wrong. If any shop is selling something which contains a regulated substance, they will be reached (and the products in question confisgated) in due course. The IMB is not a massive entity, things take time.

They haven't suddenly banned products. They are simply removing from open sale, products containing controlled substances. People seem to be angry at this for some reason. This has been done for valid reasons, so the anger is unfounded in my opinion. I am not a medical doctor, but I don't think any of the people complaining about the loss of NoXplode etc are either. The internet is not a source of reliable medical information. That people are prepared to take these products is part of the concern. The IMB are there to ensure that potentially dangerous medications are not being taken without medical supervision.

The crackdown on these products was not as a result of any one shop or person. As Dragan has alluded to, this has been a long and careful process for the IMB. Nothing could be done until they had absolute clarification about the products in question. Also, as new information becomes available about particular molecules etc, reclassification occurs.

ali.c

hardtrainer wrote: »

The IMB are not the bad guys, they're simply carrying out their duty. They haven't done anything wrong. If any shop is selling something which contains a regulated substance, they will be reached (and the products in question confisgated) in due course. The IMB is not a massive entity, things take time.

Maybe the IMB are not the bad guys per say, but to be fair alot of the scientific research carried out is funded by drug companies, studies that dont say what they want it to say are simply not published, though this is changing more and more. I know glaxo... register all studies they fund prior to outcome but this is pretty recent. Now this isnt the place to wrangle about conspiracy theories but the classification of substances as medicinal ==funds for the drug companies. The studies available to the medicinal industry are the studies funded by the pharma companies.

Plenty of peoples health is affected by alchol, tobacco and obesity. I would safety say that the deaths caused by those things makes the adverse health effects of taking a supplement with too much vit B in it look negilible.

So they are hardly saints to be honest its a reactive thing which IMHO is pretty typical of general policy in Ireland, brought about the need to be seen to be doing something useful rather than actually doing something useful. So in around about way, just because something is legal or illegal doesnt mean that the reasons for it being so are based on actual scientific fact.

Frank Bullitt

Gintonious wrote: »

Im not totally sure what got banned etc so im hoping someone here can help me out before i order something, dont want to put down an order and then it gets taken.
so here is the list:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/mag.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/purple.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/grow.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/flood.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/white.html

any help is seriously welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone, iv checked websites for the IMB but im not sure how you find out if something is illegal!!

Jimmy Bottlehead

lads, any update on whats gonna happen? Any chance of unbanning supps?

yomchi

No chance im afraid

Guvnor

A late reply and dragging up a thread that is all bad and draconian so apologies for the bad memories!:D

In the UK the IMB equivalent the MCA only concern themselves with POM (prescription only medicine). It is a body called DEFRA that deal with the policing of food supplements.

Also B12 is harmless, I believe it is water soluble so not at all dangerous, so banning something based on b12 is a bit suspect tbh.

I also find it very harsh that they can just waltz in and seize products without warning and cost businesses thousands of euro. Compare this to Sweden where the shop would receive a letter saying product x was being prohibited from x date and please remove all of x product from your shelves i.e. sell it before this date.

Far more sensible and decent imo and makes the whole situation better as shops could actually have a bit of confidence in the regulatory body rather than resenting them and being suspicious of them etc.

On the b12 same product smaller serving size and product is back legal again? Is this just a labelling issue? Does anyone know how much b12 is too much?

Also for those who got a visit were you guys given a list or reason for what they were after and why they were taking what they were taking?

Just interested in all of this as the UK laws seem mighty relaxed all of a sudden!


Thanks