The instant slimming coffees, he explained, all contain sibutramine, a substance similar to amphetamine, which has been banned in Thailand since 2010.
Somnuk Itasem, a pharmacist with the PHO, said that 19 brands of slimming coffee had been found on sale in Thailand, mostly in the southern border provinces.
“We have not yet found these dangerous coffees [in retail outlets] in Phuket, but usually they are sold by one person to another. So we want to warn people about this kind of coffee,” he said.
Some of these instant coffees are packed in large sealed cans. Other come in sealed cardboard packs.
Some of the 19 brands are labelled in Chinese or Russian, or a mixture of languages, Mr Somnuk said.
Others carry round purple labels stating “Slimming Coffee” or “Reduce Weight Coffee”; red and brown triangles stating “Slimming Coffee”; or red labels stating, in Thai, “Miracle Coffee 26 days 26 days skinny skinny fat burn body fat burn slimming coffee” or words to that effect.
He asked that anyone coming across such coffees for sale in Phuket should report the matter to the PHO by calling 076-21130.