Government to ban deadly diet drug DNP after campaign by Worcester family

The family of Bethany Shipsey have been calling for the chemical to be banned since her death in 2017.

Author: Kellie MaddoxPublished 30th Jan 2023
Last updated 30th Jan 2023

The family of a young woman from Worcester, who died after taking toxic diet pills, have said the government has agreed to ban DNP following years of them camapigning.

21-year-old Bethany Shipsey died in 2017 after taking slimming tablets containing DNP or 2,4-Dinitrophenol, which she'd bought online.

Her father Doug Shipsey has been campaigning for the chemical to be classified as a poison since her death.

Last week, the government laid legislation to regulate a number of substances including DNP which means it will be declared a poison from 1 October 2023.

Bethany's family, and the families of several other young people who've died after taking the toxic pills, met Security Minister Tom Tugendhat on Monday (January 30).

Mr Shipsey said he was surprised that Mr Tugendhat effectively agreed to a ban on DNP: "He said during the consultation process that the Home Office conducted extensive research and was unable to find any legitimate uses for DNP.

"Anyone seeking to buy DNP would need to apply to the Home Office for a licence, but as there are no legitimate uses, no licences will be issued.

"That effectively constitutes a complete ban."

Mr Shipsey said he went on the ask the minister why it had taken so long for the Home Office to take action.

"The Security Minister replied very candidly, saying they could only apologise."

What is DNP?

DNP or 2,4-DinitrophenolDinitrophenol is a highly toxic chemical often used as a pesticide.

It is sold illegally in diet pills as a fat-burning substance. DNP prevents energy being stored as fat; instead the energy is released as heat.

This increases body temperature which can damage the cells of organs such as muscle, kidney and brain.

The result can be seizures, coma, kidney failure, muscle damage and in many cases, has proven fatal.

DNP was classified as a poison until 1996.

Our #DyingToDiet campaign

Following Bethany's death in 2017, Free Radio launched its #DyingToDiet campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of toxic diet pills.

The campaign was backed by her father Doug, as well as the family of Eloise Parry from Shrewsbury who died in 2015 after taking DNP capsules.

Further backing came from the Food Standards Agency, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Worcester MP Robin Walker. A number of universities, including Aston, the University of Birmingham and the University of Worcester, also supported our mission to raise awareness.

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