Website of Weight-Loss Tea Product Deactivated

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian-based web page endorsing an “extreme dieting” tea has been closed by Instagram, a photo-sharing social media platform. Instagram believes this tea product encourages self-harm.

The popular diet product, SkinnyMe tea which is available online, has a laxative effect on consumers. Several medical experts have expressed concern in the popularity of the product, saying it can cause ''unrealistic and unhealthy'' weight loss. Medical experts are concerned with the colon cleansing product as it contains the laxative senna. Users can expect serious side effects as one customer has already been hospitalized after using the product. Based in Australia, SkinnyMe tea launched online in 2012. Describing itself as a ''100 per cent natural health supplements company'', SkinnyMe heavily advertises its product on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Most of the company’s advertisements feature “before and after” pictures to show consumers the results of the products. The Australian Medical Association has stated that unnecessarily using laxative products like SkinnyMe tea can cause electrolyte and fluid loss, as well as the loss of other nutrients needed by the heart and brain to function. ''The Australian Medical Association would absolutely not recommend buying online programs like this in an effort to control weight,'' Brian Morton, a spokesman for the association, said. ''It is unrealistic - and if you are going to use anything, read the label very carefully and get some expert advice from a general practitioner or dietitian.'' The company’s Instagram account had more than 200,000 followers and has been deactivated. An Instagram spokeswoman said SkinnyMe tea directly violated its community guidelines. ''While Instagram is a place where people can share their lives with others through photographs, it does not condone the promotion or glorification of self-harm,'' the spokeswoman said. Since the deletion of their original account, SkinnyMe tea has set up another Instagram profile. The chief operations manager for SkinnyMe tea's parent company, All Good Incorporated, Declan Palmer, sees nothing dangerous or unsafe about the use of the SkinnyMe tea product. ''There's nothing wrong with being skinny and looking good,'' Mr Palmer said. ''The colon cleanse is a kick-start and we don't suggest users should be reliant on it.'' Read the full story as it appears in The Sydney Morning Herald. SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald