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Health Canada seizes illegal pills from local store

An unauthorized drug that may cause cancer has been seized from a Burnaby retailer. Health Canada announced on Wednesday it had seized an undisclosed quantity of L-Showm Weight Loss Pills from U-Box, a store located at the Crystal Mall on Kingsway.
Cayley Dobie
L-Showm
Bad for you: Health Canada seized an undisclosed amount of the L-Showm Weight Loss Pills (pictured above) from U-Box, a retailer at Burnaby's Crystal Mall. The pills contain phenolphthalein, which may cause cancer and have several other adverse side effects including, gastrointestinal bleeding.Contributed/BURNABY NOW

An unauthorized drug that may cause cancer has been seized from a Burnaby retailer.

Health Canada announced on Wednesday it had seized an undisclosed quantity of L-Showm Weight Loss Pills from U-Box, a store located at the Crystal Mall on Kingsway.

According to Health Canada, testing of the weight loss pills determined they contained an ingredient that wasn’t listed – phenolphthalein. In the past, phenolphthalein was used as a laxative, but it is now believed to cause cancer and is no longer authorized for sale in Canada. According to Health Canada, phenolphthalein is also associated with a number of side effects including decreased blood pressure, skin rash and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Anyone who has purchased L-Showm Weight Loss Pills should stop taking the drug and report any side effects to Health Canada by calling 1-866-234-2345.