Benzylpiperazine (PEP) Pills Dangerous And Illegal

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned today that selling BZP pills, containing benzylpiperazine, is illegal and vendors may face prosecution.

Producers and sellers frequently claim that BZP is a “natural” product, describing it as a “pepper extract” or “legal or herbal high”. However, the drug is entirely synthetic, not occurring naturally in any plants.

BZP can result in agitation, vomiting, abdominal pain, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, colic, diarrhoea, allergic reactions and fever. In rare cases, users may suffer from serotonin syndrome, which can result in death.

Experimental studies demonstrate that the abuse, dependence potential, pharmacology, and toxicology of BZP are similar to those of amphetamine.

Danny Lee-Frost, Head of Operations at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said:
“Producers and sellers must now stop marketing all products containing BENZYLPIPERAZINE and “PIPERAZINE BLEND” in the UK with immediate effect and must cancel all advertising and promotion including internet promotion and sales. People should not take these pills as there are considerable health risks.” There are piperazine containing medicines for human use which must be sold in pharmacies. Any other pills containing piperazine or its salts or derivatives would be classified as unlicensed as there are no safeguards in relation to the safety, quality or efficacy of the pills.

– Benzylpiperazine is marketed under various names depending on the country. These include: BZP, Pep, Pep Love, Pep Twisted, Pep Stoned, A2, Legal E/ Legal X Frenzy, Nemesis, ESP, Cosmic Kelly, Charlie, The Good Stuff, Exodus, Frenzy, Rapture, Charge, Blast and Euphoria.

– BZP pills can come in many shapes or forms. The pills are sometimes encountered as a red, blue, pink, white, off-white, purple, orange, tan, and mottled orange-brown pills. These tablets can bear imprints such as a housefly, crown, heart, butterfly, smiley face or bull’s head logo, and are often sold as “ecstasy”. BZP has also been found in powder or liquid form packaged in small convenient sizes sold on the Internet.

– The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. No product is risk-free. Underpinning all our work lie robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits to patients and the public justify the risks. We keep watch over medicines and devices, and take any necessary action to protect the public promptly if there is a problem.

– If an individual is convicted of offences under the Medicines Act 1968, they can be sentenced to a maximum of two years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Where appropriate the MHRA will use the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to determine whether or not benefits were accrued through criminal activity and will recoup illicit earnings if the individual is found guilty.

http://www.mhra.gov.uk

New Campaign Goes ‘Back To Basics’ To Beat Baby Blues

Monday 28th May: a national campaign launches today to bring back the humble coffee morning as a simple and effective way to provide support to new mothers at a time when they’re most susceptible to the baby blues.

Fronted by TV presenter and mother-of-two, Kaye Adams, and backed by the charity Cry-Sis and Colief Infant Drops, the ‘A Problem Shared’ campaign calls on today’s generation of mums to revive the coffee morning. The Campaign also hopes to get health visitors, who provide vital support to new mums, to champion the benefits of coffee mornings during their visits.

A recent survey* found that loneliness, lack of sleep and dealing with a crying baby are the hardest things to cope with for new mums, and that nearly half suffer due to a lack of adult interaction in the first few months following the birth of their child.

Often dismissed as idle chit-chat or time-wasting, the coffee morning is a vital source of support for new mums and an effective and natural alternative to resorting to modern-day medicines such as sleeping pills and anti-depressants.

Elsie Matthewman, Chair of Cry-sis, the charity for parents with excessively crying babies commented:

“Today, many women’s social networks are formed around work so maternity leave can be a barrier to established sources of support – many find themselves living miles away from family and friends because of their job so being part of a community is harder than ever before. A coffee morning provides an ideal opportunity to share problems, such as dealing with a crying baby, feeding difficulties or lack of sleep, and to help relieve tensions.”

Jane Terry, a Health Visitor added:

“Peer support has been found to be an effective way of helping families, this is why I felt it was important to contribute to the A Problem Shared Campaign leaflet ‘Your Baby’s First Weeks’.”

As with many practical and profound solutions, the idea itself is very simple. A Problem Shared campaign web site, www.problemshared.info, has been set up to help parents set up a coffee morning in their local area.

Mary Buckley, developer of Colief Infant Drops explains. “We wanted to support the campaign after receiving a large number of calls to our helpline from distressed new mothers asking for help and advice on areas from calming crying babies and expressing milk to finding other people to talk to locally.”

Bringing the Campaign to the Nation:

– We have case studies of women who found a way out of being frightened, alone and out-of-their-depth by setting up their own coffee mornings
– We can arrange for press/photography visits to see a coffee morning in action
– We have expert comment from Elsie Matthewman, chair of Cry-sis
– Coffee morning start-up kits and campaign information are available at www.problemshared.info
• A FREE expert ‘Guide To Your Baby’s First Weeks’ can also be ordered or downloaded from the site

The campaign is sponsored by Colief Infant Drops. When babies show symptoms of colic, ruling out milk sensitivity is one of the first recommended steps. Colief Infant Drops contain the naturally-occurring enzyme lactase, which when added to the babies ‘usual milk’ (whether breast fed or formula), breaks down most of the lactose and makes the feed more easily digestible.