Ireland outlaws DMAA products

Ireland is the latest country to crack down on the sale of sports nutrition products containing DMAA after the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) branded nine known pre-workout brands as “unauthorised medicines”.

The products listed include popular brands such as Jack3D, Napalm and Crack and the FSAI has warned consumers that they are putting their health at risk if they decide to take the products. Retailers have been requested to withdraw the products from sale in health/sports shops and online.

People who have consumed products containing DMAA have been told by the FSAI to stop taking them immediately and to seek medical advice if they experience any ill-effects from taking the drug.

The FSAI said that it will deploy teams of local inspectors who have been instructed to report retailers selling products containing DMAA to the regulator.

“DMAA is an illegal central nervous system stimulant related to amphetamine,” said the agency.

“It can cause high blood pressure, nausea, cerebral haemorrhage, stroke and in serious cases can be fatal…There are several documented cases of severe negative effects on the heart and brain which indicate that consumption of DMAA, especially in combination with caffeine, poses a significant risk to consumer health.”

The action in Ireland follows recent moves in the UK, US, Canada, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand and Australia to restrict the sales of products containing DMAA.