Dinitrophenol, known as DNP is a highly toxic industrial chemical that can be found in some underground diet pills, and it is not safe for human consumption.
Although the doctors tried everything in their power to remove the drug from Eloise's system they couldn't as her body was burning up and deteriorating. According to the victim's mother, a chemist, DNP is, "a drug that speeds up your metabolism. It makes your muscles burn faster, burn off energy, release heat. Your heart races faster, your temperature goes up." Eloise took eight pills. The lethal dose is two.
Signs of acute poisoning include nausea, vomiting, restlessness, flushed skin, sweating, dizziness, headaches, rapid respiration and irregular heartbeat. Shropshire Council's public health team warns that, "it is important that people remember that any drugs or substances from unregistered websites could be potentially unsafe. This includes those which claim to bring about improvements to the body, such as slimming pills." Dr. Bhatti, who works as a doctor in emergency medicine at Leeds, adds: "the final potential outcome of DNP poisoning is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome and multi-organ dysfunction resulting in death,"
So, what is this dangerous drug and why is it still available?
The first death from DNP was reported in 1918 as a result of occupational exposure, but during the 1930s small doses of the drug were briefly used as a weight-loss aid, as DNP was used to stimulate metabolism and help with weight loss. After causing many deaths, DNP was removed from the open market. This drug is mainly used by bodybuilders and people who want to lose weight, people who want that perfect body, many times with eating disorders.
But how much are we willing to risk?
DNP was first used by french munitions factories to produce explosives. High exposure to the drug showed the factory workers the potentials of the drug: weight loss, fatigue, excessive sweat and elevated body temperature leading to many deaths before safety measures were introduced.
The market is too large to walk away from and DNP is now available via the internet and is being used without supervision or regulation.
Today, Interpol has issued a worldwide warning after Eloise Parry's death saying that this is a dangerous drug that is produced by underground laboratories, leaving consumers at risk for an overdose as the labs are not equipped to produce such drugs.
This drug is usually sold as a yellow powder or in capsules as well as it is present in some creams. The risks associated with its consumption is aggravated by the illegal conditions they are fabricated in.
