YOUNG revellers are taking body-building powders that contain a "speed-like" stimulant and which has been banned overseas because of potentially deadly side effects.
Party-goers as young as 17 are taking the supplements, which have names such as Napalm and Code Red, to give them an energy rush similar to those induced by amphetamines. But the lack of regulation of the supplements, and the ease with which they can be abused, has raised concerns among health experts.
Federal authorities are considering banning the products which contain the stimulant 1,3-Dimethylamylamine, otherwise known as DMAA.
DMAA stimulates the central nervous system by mimicking the effect of adrenalin on the body, but side effects include anxiety, vomiting, breathlessness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and stroke if abused.
The US, New Zealand and Canada have all banned products containing DMAA, and European authorities are set to follow suit.
Last year two US soldiers died from heart attacks following a workout - both had traces of DMAA in their blood.
Flinders University nutrition and dietetics lecturer, Dr Kathryn Jackson, said DMAA was a very potent stimulant that was like a legal version of amphetamines.
"You are being hyper-stimulated. All it really does is trick the brain into thinking you are not as tired as you really are - your perception of fatigue is blunted," she said.
Davie Fogarty, 17, of Eden Hills, has been taking supplements containing DMAA for about a year.
He said he used the supplement about five times a week before going to the gym, and had also taken it several times before going out at night.
"You get a buzz. It feels like 10 Red Bulls; it gives you a real hyper-ness but it can make you feel sick," he said.
"It's made my face itchy, it can make me breathe really heavily and I have had pins and needles too if I take too much."
His mother Kim, 44, said she was very concerned about her son's use of the supplements.
"I've noticed David on it and it's like he had a huge line of speed. He was really hyper and jumpy but focused," she said. "I don't like it but I don't want him to hide it from me."
Friends Ben Tirri, of Unley, and Aden O'Sullivan, of Heathpool, both 17, had used supplements before a gym workout. Ben said he had stopped taking them after a bad experience.
"You get a tingle in your body and it motivates you," he said.
"But I took double the dose, went to the gym for three hours and did my max bench press, and then got home and was throwing up for the rest of the night."
Fitness Attack store manager John Pike, whose Glenelg East shop stocks a range of supplements, said if powders were used correctly and people followed the label there would be no problem. "It's only an issue because two guys in the US took the whole tub," he said.
"But people use them for raving and clubbing and you can bet they take more than one scoop."
A spokeswoman for the Health Department said it was considering making DMAA a "prohibited substance" because it could be "abused or misused".
Youths muscle in on party powders | adelaidenow
