Simply Slim pills not cleared

The National Health Department says new Simply Slim products must go through the necessary checks before it can be put back on the market. This, after the company recently re-launched it's weight loss capsules after obtaining an appeal against a ban on the products, pending further investigation.

The pills, which had been marketed as a complementary herbal weight loss product, was banned by the Medicines Control Council in February.

The council said some of the pills tested contained the schedule 5 ingredient Sibutramine, which means it may only be sold on prescription from a doctor.But Simply Slim says they have now manufactured new capsules which do not contain the drug.

The health department's Fidel Hadebe says though given the product's history, it will not be given the green light until it has met certain Council conditions...

"The MCC is of the view that the product must go through certain processes in terms of safety in terms of its quality. Because you can't just sit back and accept the simple argument that its a new product we are pushing now, when in fact there is evidence that the product in question has been giving serious problems for those who have been using it."

Meanwhile, Simply Slim's Lance Rothschild says they have fulfilled all the necessary conditions required for a company to begin selling a complementary alternative medicine product. He has added that they are trading legally and are surprised that the MCC says they do not have clearance.