PUNE: Cardiologist on Friday cautioned gym enthusiasts against using Mephentermine sulphate injections to gain more muscles quickly, saying the compound's overuse could even lead to death.
The warning follows seizure of 246 sealed vials of the drug by the police and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials on Tuesday.
FDA officials said the Tuesday's seizure was this year's third. "On September 28, we registered an FIR with the Swargate Crime Unit 2 with regards to the seizure of 246 sealed vials of Mephentermine sulphate injectables, with an MRP of Rs 299 each. The action was carried out after a tip-off. The suspect was selling each vial of the drug at Rs 1,000 to gym enthusiasts. The entire material and drug stock seized by the police is estimated to be more than Rs 1.70 lakh," Dinesh Khivasara, drug inspector, FDA office, Pune, said.
Health experts said the drug was prescription-based and to be injected only by medical practitioners. "Its regular use can cause drowsiness, incoherence, hallucinations, convulsions, slow heart rate, vision loss and even death due to heart attack," the official said.
Dr Abhijit Joshi, consultant in cardiology at Manipal Hospitals, said, "The drug is used by doctors in operation theater during trauma surgeries to normalize the heart beat of a patient. In case of unsupervised and rampant use of the drug, it could lead to death due to heart attack. The drug causes the heart rate of a person to rise suddenly, making the person feel a sudden rush of energy for higher workout."
Khivasara said that the drug was often brought into Maharashtra from other states and sold through illegal channels.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Steffy Thevar is a Pune-based senior correspondent working for th...
Read MoreSteffy Thevar is a Pune-based senior correspondent working for the Times of India. She writes on health, urban infrastructure and gender parity issues. She has worked in Mumbai for three years and shifted to Pune and covered the Covid19 pandemic. She had completed her masters in Journalism and Mass Communication from Savitribai Phule Pune University's department of Mass Communication and Journalism. She also writes on a range of issues including housing, human rights and environment.
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