The Nation - News from Jan. 20, 1987

The Texas state health department says it suspects that three deaths in that state are linked to Mexican diet pills, which are sold under the brand names Redotex, Ponderex and Moduretic. And the pills, taken in combination in diet plans, can trigger schizophrenia and depression in people prone to those illnesses, said Dr. Lawrence Taylor, a psychiatrist and medical director of the Corpus Christi Drug Abuse Council. Although state and federal laws ban possession or transport of fenfluramine, which is similar to amphetamines and is found in Ponderex, the Federal Drug Administration and Customs Service have conflicting policies that allow Ponderex to be imported, officials said.