Those who take the drug, which contains a substance banned in many other countries, experience serious side effects.
Molecule, a pill that promises rapid weight loss, went viral on Russian TikTok earlier this year.
Young people’s feeds began to fill with captions like “Take Molecule and forget that food exists” and “Do you want to sit in the back of the room in baggy clothes?”
The videos showed refrigerators filled with blue boxes with holograms and “Molecule Plus” labels.
Orders began to pile up as teens shared their “weight loss journeys” on social media.
But there was a problem.
Maria, 22 years old, bought the pill in a famous online store. He took two pills a day and after two weeks he says his mouth became dry and he lost his appetite completely.
“I had absolutely no desire to eat, much less drink. I was nervous. I was constantly biting my lip and chewing my cheeks.”
Maria developed severe anxiety and began having negative thoughts. “These pills were having a profound effect on my psyche,” he says.
Maria, who lives in St. Petersburg, says she was not prepared for such serious side effects.
Other TikTok users have mentioned dilated pupils, tremors and insomnia. And at least three school-age children were taken to hospital.
In April, a student in Chita, Siberia, required hospital treatment after overdosing on Molecule. According to local reports, he was trying to lose weight quickly, in time for the summer.
The mother of another student told local media that her daughter was admitted to the intensive care unit after taking several pills at once.
And in May, a 13-year-old boy from St. Petersburg needed hospital treatment after suffering hallucinations and panic attacks. He reportedly asked a friend to buy the pill because he was being teased at school about his weight.
Substance banned in the UK, EU and USA
Molecular pill packaging often lists “natural ingredients” such as dandelion root and fennel seed extract.
But earlier this year, journalists from the Russian newspaper Izvestiya sent pills purchased online for analysis and found that they contained a substance called sibutramine.
Initially used as an antidepressant in the 1980s and later as an appetite suppressant, subsequent studies found that sibutramine increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes, promoting only slight weight loss.
It was banned in the United States in 2010 and is also illegal in the United Kingdom, the European Union, China and other countries.
In Russia it is still used to treat obesity, but is only available to adults and by prescription.
Buying and selling sibutramine without a prescription is a crime. But that hasn’t stopped individuals and small businesses from selling it online – often in higher doses than legal drugs – and without requiring a prescription.
Unlicensed tablets cost around £6-7 for a 20-day supply, much cheaper than recognized weight-loss injections such as Ozempic, which sell for £40-160 per monthly pen on the Russian market.
“Self-administration of this drug is very dangerous,” warns Ksenia Solovieva, an endocrinologist from St. Petersburg, about the potential risks of overdose, “because we don’t know how much active ingredient these ‘food supplements’ may contain.”
Russians regularly receive prison sentences for buying and reselling Molecule tablets. But it is proving difficult for authorities to control the illegal sale of the drug.
In April, the government-backed Safe Internet League reported to authorities the growing trend of targeting young people, leading several large online marketplaces to withdraw Molecule from sale. But it soon began appearing online under a new name, Atom, in nearly identical packaging.
A law was recently passed allowing authorities to block websites selling “unregistered dietary supplements” without a court order, but sellers have circumvented this measure by classifying them as “sports nutrition.”
On TikTok you can find retailers selling Molecule in ads that appear to be for cookies and even light bulbs. And some retailers don’t even try to hide it anymore.
A few weeks ago, the BBC found advertisements for Molecule on a popular Russian online marketplace. When asked for comment, the site said it immediately removed all products containing sibutramine. But he admitted it was difficult to find and remove ads that didn’t explicitly mention sibutramine.
If you do manage to get your hands on Molecule, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re getting and it’s unclear where the pills are made.
The BBC found some sellers with production certificates from factories in Guangzhou and Henan, China. Others claim to buy the pills in Germany.
Some packaging indicates that it was produced in Remagen, Germany, but the BBC has found that there is no company by that name at the listed address.
Some Kazakh sellers selling Molecule to Russians told the BBC they had purchased the product from friends or in warehouses in the capital Astana, but were unable to identify the original supplier.
Meanwhile, online communities dedicated to eating disorders have become spaces where Molecule is promoted, with users turning to hashtags and code terms to bypass moderation.
Solovieva says Molecule is especially harmful when taken by young people who already suffer from eating disorders. For those who have relapsed or are on the verge of relapsing, an easily available appetite suppressant can be extremely dangerous, he says.
Anna Enina, a Russian influencer with millions of followers who admitted to using unlicensed diet pills in the past, publicly warned her subscribers: “As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder… the consequences will be terrible. You will be very sorry.”
Maria, 22, suffered severe side effects and is one of those who regretted it. After taking too many Molecule pills, she was taken to the hospital.
She now discourages other young women and girls from taking the pills on weight loss forums. He also contacted the parents of a teenage user to notify them.
But Molecule remains popular online.
And every video that appears on Maria’s TikTok feed is a reminder of the pills that made her sick.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
