Warning/Danger: Apetamin in Nairobi; What You Should Know

You might have come across the hashtag #Apetamin on Instagram and wondered what it was all about. Apetamin is a supplement used to relieve symptoms of allergies as well as treat anorexia (because it helps to increase your appetite). According to manufacturing labels, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of Apetamin syrup contains:

Cyproheptadine hydrochloride: 2 mg

L-lysine hydrochloride: 150 mg

Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) hydrochloride: 1 mg

Thiamine (vitamin B1) hydrochloride: 2 mg

Nicotinamide (vitamin B3): 15 mg

Dexpanthenol (an alternative form of vitamin B5): 4.5 mg

Users and promoters of Apetamin claim it boosts weight gain. It's all the rage for men and women desperate to get the enviable curves that fill Instagram feeds by gaining muscle or butts and hips.

There are vendors all over Nairobi pushing Apetamin on Instagram and there are concerns that some of the syrup bottles being sold to unsuspecting customers are not even manufactured by TIL Healthcare PVT in India.

Apetamin users are egged on to use the syrup unsparingly for faster results and it's shocking how many people claim they use a bottle a week.

The supplement is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States due to safety and effectiveness concerns, and it's illegal to sell it in the US and many other countries.

This is because it contains cyproheptadine hydrochloride, an antihistamine that is only available with a prescription due to safety concerns. Mis-using this substance may cause serious outcomes, such as liver failure and death. READ MORE

NHS England has urged Instagram to clamp down on accounts selling an unlicensed, "dangerous" drug mainly targeted at younger women and girls.

We reached out to the Pharmacy & Poisons Board for comment on the sell of Apetamin in Kenya. They are yet to get back to us.

Please take caution.