Weight-Loss Pills Stopped At The Border
September 06, 2006
OTTAWA - Thousands of Canadian dieters are finding
themselves lighter in the wallet since orders for the
latest magic weight-loss pills are being stopped at the
border.
Federal customs officials have stopped as many as 2,000 shipments of a relatively new dieting fad involving the extract of an African cactus called Hoodia due to concerns over the plant's endangered status.
Sheldon Jordan of Environment Canada's wildlife enforcement
unit said there are legally certified Hoodia pills available,
but many products fail to show they were legally harvested
from various countries in southern Africa.
"Right now we,re probably detaining up to two or three dozen shipments a day," said Jordan.
Legally traded Hoodia comes with what is called a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) certificate, but scores of U.S. and U.K.-based companies are selling the product without the proper paperwork.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/08/28/1781793.html
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