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Woman died after accidental overdose of highly toxic diet pills Woman died after accidental overdose of highly toxic diet pills
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A size-10 university student who was obsessed with losing weight died of an accidental overdose after taking diet pills that contained a highly toxic substance, a coroner has ruled. A size-10 university student who was obsessed with losing weight died of an accidental overdose after taking diet pills that contained a highly toxic substance, a coroner has ruled. Eloise Parry, 21, who had battled with bulimia, bought tablets containing a compound known as DNP via the internet using her online payment account.
Eloise Parry, 21, who had battled with bulimia, bought tablets containing a compound known as DNP via the internet with US dollars using her online payment account.
Related: Interpol alert over diet pills that left Eloise Parry deadRelated: Interpol alert over diet pills that left Eloise Parry dead
On the morning of her death Parry took eight tablets, and later sent a text message to a college lecturer at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, saying: “I screwed up big time. Binged/purged all night and took four pills at 4am. On the morning of her death, Parry took eight tablets, and later sent a text message to a college lecturer at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, saying: “I screwed up big time. Binged/purged all night and took four pills at 4am. I took another four when I woke and I started vomiting soon after. I think I am going to die. No one is known to survive if they vomit after taking DNP. I am so scared. I am so sorry for being so stupid.”
“I took another four when I woke and I started vomiting soon after. I think I am going to die. No one is known to survive if they vomit after taking DNP. I am so scared. I am so sorry for being so stupid.” The senior coroner for Shropshire, John Ellery, said he would write to the government urging it to investigate the compound 2,4-dinitrophenol, commonly known as DNP. The inquest in Shrewsbury was told that British police and the Food Standards Agency were still investigating elements of the tragedy with the support of Interpol and agencies in north America.
The senior coroner for Shropshire, John Ellery, said he would write to the government urging it to investigate the compound 2,4-dinitrophenol, commonly known as DNP.
The industrial chemical, which is unfit for human consumption, has been linked to several deaths in the UK and was the subject of an Interpol warning notice issued to 190 countries in May.The industrial chemical, which is unfit for human consumption, has been linked to several deaths in the UK and was the subject of an Interpol warning notice issued to 190 countries in May.
The inquest in Shrewsbury was told British police and the Food Standards Agency were still investigating elements of the tragedy with the support of Interpol and agencies in north America. Parry, who lived at a flat in Shrewsbury and was 5ft 10in tall, was studying families and childcare studies at university. She died at around 3.25pm after being admitted to the Royal Shrewsbury hospital at 9.56am on 12 April. Her death prompted police to issue a warning about the dangers of buying medicines and supplements online.
Parry, who lived at a flat in Shrewsbury and was 5ft 10ins, was studying families and childcare studies at university. She died at around 3.25pm after being admitted to the Royal Shrewsbury hospital at 9.56am on 12 April. Recording his conclusions, Ellery said DNP was clearly a dangerous and toxic substance which should not be accessible to people seeking non-prescribed medication. “I am satisfied and endorse the actions taken by the police and the multi-agencies – they are actively pursuing this on a national and international basis. I [will] write [to the government] simply to give additional weight to that. It is for the minister to consider whether dinitrophenol should be a classified substance.”
Her death prompted police to issue a warning about the dangers of buying medicines and supplements online. A police investigation is continuing to establish who supplied the tablets, which may have originated in Europe or Canada. The student used PayPal to buy a quantity of DNP on 4 April and ordered a second batch at 6.14am on the day of her death. The inquest heard that a website marketing DNP – an industrial chemical historically used in explosives, dyes and fungicides – had been closed down but “popped up again in an almost identical format” hours later.
Recording his conclusions, Ellery said DNP was clearly a dangerous and toxic substance which should not be accessible to people seeking non-prescribed medication. Parry’s GP Carla Ingram told the hearing that the student was “obsessed” with her body image. In a statement read to the hearing, Dr Ingram said: “Ms Parry was deeply troubled but was intelligent and she was aware of the risk to her health taking this drug. She was by her own admission obsessed by her own desire and need to lose weight and continued to take escalating doses with no apparent ability to stop herself.”
“I am satisfied and endorse the actions taken by the police and the multi-agencies – they are actively pursuing this on a national and international basis. Speaking outside court after the hearing, her mother, Fiona, a chemistry teacher, urged people not to take DNP as a slimming tablet. She said: “Eloise was an independent soul who was carving her way through life with difficulty, exploring the world and trying to make something of herself in the process.
“I [will] write [to the government] simply to give additional weight to that. It is for the minister to consider whether dinitrophenol should be a classified substance.” “Living life to the full always involves taking risks. We weigh up the pros and cons and decide whether the risk is worth taking. Every day I allow my children to us sharp knives and unguarded gas flames because I believe that learning to cook for themselves is worth the risk.
A police investigation is continuing to establish who supplied the tablets, which may have originated in Europe or Canada. “Eloise decided that even though she had been told DNP was dangerous, being slimmer was worth the risk. She was convinced the dangers were being exaggerated and some days she even thought she was being lied to about it. She was wrong. If anything it was even more dangerous than she had been told. She weighed the pros and cons and made a bad choice. It cost her her life. I would implore anyone even considering taking DNP or something similar not to do so.
The student used PayPal to buy a quantity of DNP on 4 April and ordered a second batch at 6.14am on the day of her death. “These substances are sold by people who don’t care about your health – they just want your money. You can’t know whether or not you are getting what you paid for, and probably you’re not. It will almost certainly be impure and the impurities could be really nasty.”
The inquest heard that a website marketing DNP – an industrial chemical historically used in explosives, dyes and fungicides – had been closed down but “popped up again in an almost identical format” hours later. Parry added: “I would very much like to see much harsher and stiffer penalties for distributing and supplying these substances. The extent to which it becomes illegal, I think that is something for discussion amongst government departments.”
Parry’s GP Carla Ingram told the hearing the student was “obsessed” with her body image. In a statement read to the hearing, Dr Ingram said: “Ms Parry was deeply troubled but was intelligent and she was aware of the risk to her health taking this drug.
“She was by her own admission obsessed by her own desire and need to lose weight and continued to take escalating doses with no apparently ability to stop herself.”
Speaking outside court after the hearing, her mother Fiona, a chemistry teacher, urged people not to take DNP as a slimming tablet. She said: “Eloise was an independent soul who was carving her way through life with difficulty, exploring the world and trying to make something of herself in the process.
“Living life to the full always involves taking risks, we weigh up the pros and cons and decide whether the risk is worth taking. “Every day I allow my children to us sharp knives and unguarded gas flames because I believe that learning to cook for themselves is worth the risk.
“Eloise decided that even though she had been told DNP was dangerous, being slimmer was worth the risk. She was convinced the dangers were being exaggerated and some days she even thought she was being lied to about it. She was wrong.
“If anything it was even more dangerous than she had been told. She weighed the pros and cons and made a bad choice. It cost her her life. I would implore anyone even considering taking DNP or something similar not to do so.
“These substances are sold by people who don’t care about your health, they just want your money. You can’t know whether or not you are getting what you paid for and probably you’re not. It will almost certainly be impure and the impurities could be really nasty.”
Parry added: “I would very much like to see much harsher and stiffer penalties for distributing and supplying these substances.
“The extent to which it becomes illegal, I think that is something for discussion amongst government departments.”