Regulators in various countries clamp down on unsafe "party pill" ingredient

Regulatory authorities around the world are taking aim at products containing the ingredient N-benzylpiperazine, which are often sold as dietary supplements, as fears grow about the health risks they pose to the public.

It could be argued the emergence of BZP as an ingredient in supplements in some way goes to fill the void in the marketplace left by efforts to clamp down on ephedra or ma huang, another stimulant ingredient with safety that came to prominence in the 1990s in products promising everything from weight loss to a "natural high," and was eventually banned from the US market in 2004.

In the latest development, the government in New Zealand has tabled a bill hoping to see a complete ban on the supplements, having already restricted their distribution in 2005, and has recommended that other countries follow suit. If accepted, the bill would prohibit the use, manufacture, sale, import and export of N-benzylpiperazine, often referred to as BZP, and could come into force as early as December 12. The substance would become a class 1 drug, in the same grouping as cannabis. But the substance remains available in many countries around the world, raising the distinct possibility that members of the public are placing themselves at risk of serious side effects and starting down the slippery slope toward dependence on more serious drugs of abuse.