Tianeptine sales besmirch supplement industry’s reputation, but who is really at fault?
A shadowy network supplies products featuring illegal drugs that are sold in convenience and liquor stores and smoke shops. Is that the fault of the dietary supplement industry?
At a Glance
- Tianeptine sales have made a splash via a mainstream media news report.
- The 'loosely regulated' supplement industry is cast as a scapegoat for the actions of the purveyors of illegal drugs.
- A concerted industry effort is needed to counteract this false narrative.
Tianeptine, dubbed “gas station heroin,” is back in the news, giving the dietary supplement industry another black eye.
A recent front-page story in The New York Times sounded the alarm about tianeptine sales, under the following headline: ‘Gas-Station Heroin’ Sold as Dietary Supplement Alarms Health Officials.
The New York Times journalist, Jan Hoffman, provided the caveat that while some tianeptine brands label the products as supplements, the Food and Drug Administration “has explicitly said, for example, that tianeptine does not qualify as a dietary supplement.”