'I was blindsided': Saskatoon sex shop owner shocked after Health Canada confiscates $10K in enhancement pills

The owner of a Saskatoon sex shop says he was shocked when Health Canada officers seized thousands of dollars in 'sexual enhancement' pills.

Earlier this month, officials confiscated about $10,000 in pills from a For Lovers Only location after determining they could not be legally sold in the country.

"I was blindsided," said owner Dennis Smith. "To seize ten thousand dollars worth of product, they could have sent us a letter and said, 'These products aren't allowed in your store.' We would have gotten rid of them."

The pills, which boast colourful names like Kangaroo Ultra 3000 and Jaguar 30000, promise to increase sexual performance for men and women.

'Prescription for a reason'

However, Health Canada said the pills can contain unknown quantities of drugs found in prescription medication (like Viagra and Cialis), which can be dangerous when taken by people with underlying health conditions.

"Those medications are prescription for a reason," said Carmen Bell, a medication information consultant and pharmacist with MedSask. "Some medical conditions, or people taking medications, can make the medications used for erectile dysfunction unsafe."

Symptoms can include a sharp drop in blood pressure andlead to serious health effects.

"There might be chest pain, dizziness and faintness, because it can really reduce blood pressure," she said. "There can be even more serious consequences, even as far as stroke."

For his part, Smith said he bought the pills from a wholesaler in the United States and was told they were legal to be sold in Canada.

"Which is no excuse," he said. "We don't want to sell product that is not good and not healthy for our customers."

Smith said he would have liked to return the pills to the wholesaler and get a refundbut can't because the pills were confiscated.

These days, Smith is now only selling enhancement pills that are approved by Health Canada, which can be identified by a string of numbers on the bottom of the packaging, starting with either NPN, DIN or DIN-HM.

For its part, Health Canada asked the public to tell officials if they have any adverse reactions from taking non-approved enhancement pills.

"It helps us to follow up on illegal products on the ground," said spokesperson Maryse Durette. "If you find them on the shelves but they don't have the DIN or the NPN, you should really file a complaint to Health Canada.

Over the past three months, a number of sexual enhancement pills have been seized by Health Canada from nine sex shops and convenience stores across Ontario.

The Health Canada announcement said the following products were seized:

• 7K
• Alien Power Platinum 11000
• Black Stallion 5000
• Blue Diamond
• Jaguar 30000
• Kangaroo Ultra 3000
• Lucky Lady
• Poseidon Platinum 3500
• Rhino 7 Platinum 5000
• Rhino Ultimate 3500
• Slam
• Stiff Rox
• Super Panther 7K
• Titanium 4000