The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to purchase or use Neptune’s Fix, or any products with tianeptine. The substance is potentially dangerous and not FDA-approved for any medical use, the agency said, but it is illegally sold with claims to improve brain function and treat anxiety, depression, pain, opioid use disorder and other conditions.
Some states, like Florida, have banned tianeptine, sometimes called “gas station heroin,” according to the state’s attorney general. Tianeptine can mimic the effects of opioids and is available at gas stations, convenience stores, vape and smoke shops and online.
The FDA said it has received reports of seizures and loss of consciousness leading to hospitalization following the use of Neptune’s Fix products. Neptune’s Fix labels state that the product contains tianeptine, but it may also contain other harmful ingredients not listed on the label, the agency said.
The FDA is testing these products and will release more information when it becomes available.
Tianeptine is now on the Schedule I list of controlled substances in Florida. It’s banned in other states like Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee.
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