Young woman’s death in Erbil blamed on unlicensed pills sold online

 A young woman died in Erbil on Thursday over what is suspected to be the consumption of unauthorized weight-gain pills that are sold online, her family said. 

Helin Ahmed, 19, was a third-year student at a private college. She was taken to the hospital 36 days after she began taking weight-boosting pills. 

“Someone buys pills and medication online on Facebook, Helin ordered these pills to gain weight,” Nasrat Khoshnaw, a close relative of Ahmed, told Rudaw on Thursday, adding the pills were called “Mad Max.”

“The salespeople said it was natural and healthy and she bought a set containing 60 pills,” Khoshnaw added. “She then takes 36, becomes ill and dies." 

“At the hospital, the doctor told us Helin’s liver had broken apart and her intestines were lumped and exploded because of the pills,” Khoshnaw explained. 

The ministry also warned the public not to buy drugs “without a Ministry of Health sticker.”

Erbil’s health directorate in a statement said they have launched an investigating into the incident, the cause of death and the salespeople. 

Tons of counterfeit medications are being smuggled into the Kurdistan Region through its border crossings; drug-importing companies often don’t have medically-recommended warehouses, with low-quality medicines posing a threat to public safety.

Police Brigadier-General Dler Najar in January said around 45 tons of expired medicine was confiscated in Erbil.