In Tunisia, unregulated “miracle” supplements smuggled in from Algeria promise rapid weight changes but leave behind a trail of illness and death
In a meticulous investigation for Alqatiba, journalist Sameh Gharsalli exposes how nutritional supplements that are marketed as quick fixes for weight gain or slimming have infiltrated Tunisian markets and social media, preying on young women’s insecurities and the lack of state oversight. Popular products such as Super Apeti, Fast Slimmer and Betabio are sold cheaply in souks and online, often with no indication of their composition or origin. “You’ll be surprised at how your daughter’s body will change in a short period of time,” one merchant told a worried mother, insisting the pills were safe, despite growing evidence of severe health risks. The price? Six Tunisian dinars.
The investigation documents multiple suspicious deaths linked to these supplements, alongside testimonies from women who experienced dangerous side effects. Yet the trade flourishes because, as Gharsalli notes, Tunisia’s regulatory system is fragmented and poorly enforced. Even after the Ministry of Health warned in January 2025 that these products were “neither a nutritional supplement nor a licensed medicine, as it is unsafe for use”, enforcement remains weak, and traffickers simply move their business to new markets.
Experts interviewed in the piece describe the trade as part of a larger “parallel pharmaceutical economy” that thrives on misinformation and desperation. For young women especially, where body image pressures intersect with limited access to affordable healthcare, the allure of these pills remains strong. Buyers are viewed simply as consumers, not as patients or citizens.
Gharsalli’s work situates this deadly market within the broader failures of state health governance and cross-border trafficking, drawing attention to a public health crisis that official institutions are yet to intervene but it is gaining political traction.
The original article (“المًُكمّلات الغذائيّة المُهرّبة من الجزائر: تجارة الموت تحت يافطة التسمين والتنحيف”) by Sameh Gharsalli was first published in Arabic on 4 February 2025.
It’s available here.
Alqatiba is an independent Tunisian investigative journalism platform known for in-depth reporting on corruption, governance and public health issues in North Africa.
Summary by ZN
